Whispers Behind Backs
by Bar-Ohki
Summary: HP-FMA Crossover. When ‘They’ target Edward and Alphonse, Colonel Mustang is forced to take drastic measures to protect their lives, even if it means opening up the closed doors of his past…. Chapter 15: Some Truth About Truman...
1. Prologue: Conversation

**Whispers Behind Backs**

**Author: Bar-Ohki ** **Beta: ehxhfdl14**

Disclaimer: I do not have legal rights to Fullmetal Alchemist or Harry Potter, so don't sue me. If you see characters that do not appear in either series assume they are mine unless I tell you otherwise. Do not steal my characters.

Summary: HP-FMA Crossover. When 'They' target Edward and Alphonse, Colonel Mustang is forced to take drastic measures to protect their lives, even if it means opening up the closed doors of his past….

Rating: M because of violence, gore, adult themes, swearing, and sex scenes (eventually).

Warnings: There will be some yaoi and maybe some yuri. There will also be a rape. Lots of discrimination and slandering, not to mention brutal beatings…. There'll be some angsting. Torture, there'll be some of that. Not to mention cryptic conversations and mysteries that make you think. If you find something objectionable above, click the back button now or don't bitch when we get there.

Pairings: Will come and go as naturally throughout the story. Realistically people don't stay with one partner; they date several people and then pick one. I can assure you there will not be any EdSetia or AlphonseSetia (that will become clear when you meet Setia). I can also assure you that any married couples in this story will not be cheating on one another.

Other Stuff: Now, if for some reason there is something wrong or bad about my writing, you are welcome to bitch about that under the premise you tell me why it sucked. This is a Harry Potter/Fullmetal Alchemist cross over, but it is not a typical one. I am taking the ideas and concepts from the world of Harry Potter and applying and expanding them to the world of Fullmetal Alchemist. You will not see any of the Harry Potter characters in here, though you may hear mention of places such as 'Hogwarts' in conversations. I am writing this story under the assumption you, the reader, knows nothing about Harry Potter. So I will explain things thoroughly as I go along, sometimes I'll have a bit of history at the beginning of a chapter, other times one character will explain to a more ignorant character what something is/means. There will be some things left unexplained because they are part of the mystery. This story is very much a mystery story, but it falls under romance, family, angst, politics, fantasy, humor, and adventure. It's an all-round story, so please keep that in mind. I hope you enjoy this story, and if you are coming here from Fullflame or A Pen or A Sword, I hope you enjoy this one too.

Beta's Stuff: Hello there! I'm actually very excited about how this one will turn out, and hope you'll enjoy this too.

Prologue: Conversations

**-Mustang Family Manor, Blue sitting room-**

It was an extravagant room, full of green velvet and gold leaf trims. The ceilings and windows were high, overlooking a garden of flowers worthy for royalty. The walls had been painted in various hues of blues to match the sea-like feeling of the room. A woman, her belly round and heavy with a child, wobbled into the room and lay down on the nearest piece of furniture, a chase lounge. She wore a simple, white dress which made her seem a little out of place in the fancy room. Her frazzled black hair was up in what must have once been a lovely bun. Her sharp, yet tired onyx eyes scanned the room wearily. She rubbed her round belly, moaning slightly as the child inside kicked.

_Pop! Pop!_ Two little creatures appeared out of nowhere. Both were scraggly and gaunt looking, all bony elbows in their human-like shape. Their heads were large with big, floppy pointed ears on either side. Their eyes were big; one's were blue and the other's were yellow. The blue eyed one had tufts of grey hair sticking out from beneath the little maid's cap it was wearing. The rest of the blue eyed creature was clad in a stained but clean potato sack. The other one with the yellow eyes had long, blue hair and was in an unstained potato sack.

"Mistress?" The grey haired creature inquired in a squeaky voice.

"It's alright Sandra. I'm just waiting for my husband." The woman dismissed the creature, eyeing the other one. "Why are _you_ here?"

"I-I don't mean to offend!" The other creature squeaked, its voice identifying itself to being female. "I-I wanted to make sure your child was alright."

"You will be summoned when I go into labor, until then make yourself scarce!" The woman snapped, angry. With a 'pop' the second creature disappeared. Moments later a man and a young boy came into the room. Both were dressed in elegant blue velvet robes, harmonizing with the room pleasantly. The man had a head of brown hair and brilliant blue eyes. His son (that much was obvious by the amount of facial features they shared alone), had the same brown hair, but in a lighter shade. He had inherited his mother's onyx eyes and quick wit.

"Victoria?" The man gave his wife a concerned look.

"Your son is kicking me again." She informed her husband with a dry look.

"Mummy, how do you know it will be a boy?" The son asked.

"Atticus, sweetie, only boys kick this much." Victoria told her son.

"Is that right Papa?" Atticus asked his father.

"This is one of those things I just trust your mother's judgment on and I will say no more." The father winked at his son. Both males knelt down before Victoria and put their hands on her swollen belly.

"Do you think my brother will be as great a wizard as you, Mummy?" Atticus asked.

"I'm not completely sure, but I do know he'll be better than Gerodi!" Victoria's eyes twinkled as she teased her husband.

"Hey!" Gerodi cried, indignant.

"It doesn't matter," Victoria rubbed her belly, "your brother will be a fine wizard, just like the rest of the family."

"I'm sure he'll be a good true Mustang." Gerodi nodded.

"What's my brother's name?" Atticus asked, looking in awe at his mother's stomach.

"Roy. Roy Mustang." Victoria answered.

**-30 years later, on a train Central-bound-**

Someone in a large suit of armor was sitting by themselves on a bench in a train. They were looking around, the armor creaking and waiting for something. In this case, it was not a some_thing_ but rather a some_one_. A young boy walked down the aisle, smiling to his fellow passengers as he passed by. The boy was doing this to ease the slightly disturbed expressions of those around him. It was not too surprising why as the boy was dressed rather strangely. He wore black leather pants, a black tank top and jacket, then on top of that a red coat with the Flamel printed on the back in black. His eyes were gold and his canary yellow hair was so long, the boy had chosen to tie it back in a braid. A strange boy indeed.

He arrived at the bench that housed the person in armor and sat down next to them. Both looked at the other and exchanged smiles. They knew they made an odd pair, but neither cared.

"So how was your lunch, brother?" The male in the armor inquired, addressing the blond haired boy.

"It was pretty good, Al." The boy answered his brother. "So how was sitting here?"

"I was thinking about Master Sergeant Fuery." Al admitted.

"Yeah, he got into a pretty bad brawl right before we left." The boy looked thoughtful. "I wonder who started that one?"

"I don't know Ed, I really don't." Al sighed. "The Master Sergeant was fighting really hard though."

"Yeah," Ed rubbed his cheek, "you don't realize a small, mousy guy like him could pack a punch, but he sure can."

"It wasn't my choice to break up the fight with my own fists." Al recalled nervously, remembering his brother rush into the fray and push the fighters away from one another, only to get hit in the face a few times himself.

"It worked in the end!" Ed huffed. Silence fell over the brothers

"…Say, Al?" Edward said after a while. "What do you suppose 'squib' means? I mean, it's got to be something bad, it got Fuery upset. Master Sergeant _Kain __Fuery!!_ That guy never loses his cool!"

"I don't know. To be honest, I have never seen the Master Sergeant that _furious_ before, he's worse than you when you get mad, and that's saying something!" Al answered.

"Al!" Ed snapped playfully at his brother, slightly insulted. "Still…. 'Squib', 'muggle', 'mud-blood', what do they mean? Why do they make people so upset?"

"I don't know." Al shook his head.

"I hate it," Edward growled, "you can't ask what something bad like that means because it's a bad thing to say."

"I know, brother, I know." Al put a hand on his brother's shoulder. "We'll figure it out in time, I'm sure. After all, that's how you learned your colorful vocabulary…."

"Hey!"

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There it is a prologue in two parts! For those who have read the Fullflame teaser, don't spoil it for the new readers! Please tell me what you think!


	2. Knowing

**Whispers Behind Backs**

**Author: Bar-Ohki Beta: ehxhfdl14**

Disclaimer: Don't sue me, its pointless and it annoys the authoress.

Other Stuff: I apologize for the insanely long one of those I had last chapter, it probably won't happen again. The Beta's Stuff might not appear in certain chapters, my beta doesn't always have something to say.

Beta's Stuff: This chapter is brought to you by Bar-Ohki and ehxhfdl14.

Chapter 1: Knowing

**-Present, Central Headquarters, Office of Colonel Mustang-**

"It's weird…." A tall blond soldier remarked as he peeked through the blinds out into the world. He was wearing one of the standard blue military uniforms that the Amestrian Military issues. He took his blue eyes away from the outside world and steered them back into the office where he and his comrades worked. His eyes scanned over the various desks of his coworkers and the door to the inner office of his commanding officer.

"What's weird, Lieutenant?" A large, heavy man with red hair and brown eyes inquired lazily from his desk. He had been overlooking a few maps and making some notes.

The Lieutenant sighed and peeked out the window again, the unlit cigarette in his mouth moving up and down in worry. "How oblivious these people are."

"I think is probably better if they remain that way." The red haired man stated his mind.

"Do you ever wish you could go back?" The Lieutenant asked his comrade.

"…Sometimes. But I also like where I am now; I mean, strange shit doesn't take me by surprise anymore. Well, not the same way." The red head let out a laugh.

"I guess you're right about that, Breda." The Lieutenant smiled. "I guess it means we get a shot at being Fuhrer."

"You? Fuhrer? Havoc, you sure that's a _normal_ cigarette you're smoking?" Breda asked his friend jokingly.

"Ha, ha, very funny." Havoc stepped away from the window and returned to his desk. There were a few papers on it, and Havoc began to pick them up and organize them. Not too long after another man came into the room. He had a head of grey hair and squinted eyes. His uniform marked him a Warrant Officer.

"Second Lieutenant Havoc, Second Lieutenant Breda." The Warrant Officer acknowledged his comrades.

"Falman." They nodded back. Falman walked into the back of the room and started organizing the files.

"Hey, did you visit Fuery?" Havoc asked after a short silence.

"…Yes." Falman sighed. "He picked a fight with one of the doctors and had to be sedated."

"What'd the doctor say to him?" Breda asked, setting down the map he was holding to frown deeply.

"The idiots took Fuery down to the MCW, rather than the Infirmary. One of the doctors made a comment about the Colonel and Fuery snapped again. Except this time he took out his wand and blew up one of the medicine cabinets." Falman sighed. (1)

"Haven't they figured it out? Don't talk about the Colonel in crude manners around Fuery or he goes ballistic!" Havoc moaned.

"That's a recent development, I sure hope it doesn't stay." Falman admitted. "It's only going to make his and the Colonel's lives harder if it does."

"It doesn't help that the Colonel has done everything within his power to piss off his family." Breda frowned even deeper. "Certainly hasn't made him any friends."

"Speaking of the Colonel, where is he?" Falman asked.

"He had to go visit the Lieutenant Fuhrer about something or other; he'll be back soon I'd wager." Havoc remarked.

"You seem a little thoughtful today, is there an occasion?" Falman shut the file cabinet then walked over to his desk and started to fill out the paperwork there.

"Do you ever regret learning about the Mages?" Havoc asked. "Do you ever wish you could go back to being innocent?"

"Ignorant and innocent are synonyms in my book." Falman explained himself. "I would rather know, no matter how bad the truth may be."

"You know, aren't you suspicious that Fullmetal doesn't know about Mages even though he's under the Colonel's command?" Breda asked his comrades. None of them supplied an answer; there was really none to give.

"Where is the Colonel?" A female voice brought everyone's attention to the door into the office. Standing there was a blond woman with her hair up in a clip and fiery amber eyes. She had a gun at either hip and wore a tight-lipped frown.

"First Lieutenant Hawkeye." Falman saluted her.

"There's no need for such formalities Falman, you see me every day." Hawkeye chuckled. "But really, where is Colonel Mustang?"

"Some meeting with the Lieutenant Fuhrer." Havoc waved it off casually. Hawkeye's frown deepened and her expression grew worried.

"I hope this isn't about Fuery's recent behavior." She said after a while. "I'm not sure he can take any more flack like that and come out unscathed."

"The Colonel comes out of a lot of stuff unscathed." Havoc wasn't worrying; it just wasn't something he did well.

"I hope you're right, Havoc." Hawkeye stepped into the room and made her way to her desk.

**-About two minutes ago, Central Headquarters, Office of Lt. Fuhrer Hakuro-**

An extremely attractive man with jet black hair and onyx eyes strolled into the office of Lieutenant Fuhrer Hakuro. The man was a soldier, a Colonel if his shoulder insignias were anything to go by. He stopped a few paces from the desk where the chair and its occupant were turned away from him.

"You asked for me Lieutenant Fuhrer, sir?" The Colonel asked, standing at attention and saluting. He was slightly nervous; he did not get along well with most Mages, the Lieutenant Fuhrer was no exception. Slowly the chair turned around to reveal another man, also in a military uniform, but this one was velvet instead of the typical sturdy material made for wear and tear. The Lieutenant Fuhrer had hard brown eyes and graying brown hair. The aging man looked stern, and in his right hand was a long steel wand.

"Yes, I did." The Lieutenant Fuhrer studied the Colonel carefully. "Major Elric is your subordinate, correct Mustang?"

"Yes sir." Mustang remained at attention, his salute never dropping. Somehow being overly formal made him more comfortable around Mages.

"At ease, seeing you all stiff like that only makes my back ache." The Lieutenant Fuhrer waved a free hand dismissingly. Mustang dropped his hand and relaxed carefully, not quite losing the stance associated with standing at attention.

"Fuhrer Hakuro," Mustang began, using the typical shortening of dropping the 'Lieutenant', "if this is about Major Elric's ignorance of Mages, I assure you it is merely because he's out in the field too often to have proper orientation training."

"I am aware of that, Colonel. I hear it nearly every time you step into my office." Hakuro glared at Mustang. "This isn't about that at all, if that gives you peace of mind."

"Then…what is it about sir?" Mustang was honestly curious; it was not often a Mage had anything to do with an Alchemist.

_"They_ have targeted Major Elric." Hakuro answered grimly.

"What do you mean Major Elric was targeted!?" Mustang demanded, fiercely smashing his hands upon the desk of Lieutenant Fuhrer Hakuro in, a not completely unpredictable act of rage and fear.

"Exactly what I said, _squib_," the Lieutenant Fuhrer met Mustang's glare, "Major Elric, the Fullmetal Alchemist is one of _Their_ targets."

"Fuck!" Mustang hissed, wishing he didn't have to hear that. "What are you going to do about it?"

_"I'm_ not doing anything, _squib_, this is your job." Hakuro reminded Mustang, all hint of civility gone. "You figure it out."

"Are you going to give me authorization for my actions?" Mustang inquired, it was a fair question. "Because if I'm left in charge, I'll be commandeering one your Mages."

"You don't have the authority to do that." Hakuro smirked.

"Are you trying to get that boy _killed!?"_ Mustang protested. "Do you not remember what he did for you and your family!?"

"These aren't my orders." Hakuro left it at that. Mustang paled in his newfound silence.

"You aren't going to help?" Mustang asked in a voice barely above a whisper.

"Not you, _squib."_ Hakuro gave him a shooing gesture. "Now take your impure ass out of my office, you're stinking it up with that almost-muggle scent of yours."

"Good day sir." Mustang saluted and left the office, half panicked, half pissed. It did not take him long to reach the doors of his own office.

"Colonel?" Hawkeye asked, seeing the unpleasant expression on the man's face.

"Where is Fullmetal?" Mustang asked his men. "We need to find him, _now."_

"What's the occasion?" Breda asked, pulling out a special map of the country. There were little holograms of people's heads sticking off the map. Each head hovered above a dot. The interesting thing about the heads was that they carried the current farcical expression of the person to whom the corresponded, as well as a little notice above their heads telling everyone of their general physical condition.

"He's on a south-bound train." Breda remarked, pointing to the head of a young boy with gold eyes and long, blond hair. The boy appeared to be talking to someone. "He's in good condition."

"Care to share why your condition says 'stressed'?" Havoc asked pointing to Mustang's head.

_"They_ have targeted Fullmetal." Mustang replied grimly.

All the heads that corresponded to people in the office had shocked expressions as their conditions all changed to 'stressed'.

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A little session with our military folk to introduce the problem and get the plot going. Like? Don't like?

1- MCW: Magical Care Wing, designed to treat magically inflicted or severe wounds. Typically Mages are sent there if they are harmed, even if it is considered something minor.

Drop a review!


	3. Meeting

**Whispers Behind Backs**

**Author: Bar-Ohki Beta: ehxhfdl14**

Disclaimer: Don't sue me, its pointless and it annoys the authoress.

Other Stuff: "Better living through technology!" Or so my mother is fond of saying sarcastically, updates have been slow due to technological issues on me and my beta's part. We are sorry for the inconvenience.

Beta's Stuff: cough Due to me being laid flat by an unexpected sickness, the chapters have been delayed and I apologize profusely. Please read and review!

Chapter 2: Meeting

**-Present, on a Rush Valley-bound train-**

"Hey, Al?" Edward asked suddenly into the cool night. The sun had set a few hours ago and Edward had gone to sleep along with it. The young boy was currently curled up against the window, his coat wrapped around himself for warmth.

"Yes Ed?" Alphonse asked back, not sounding tired.

"Why is it that Mustang always knows where we are?" Edward asked. "I mean he's got it down to a scary accuracy."

"Well, he does have military resources…." Alphonse pointed out.

"But I do too! They aren't _that_ good." Edward hissed back.

"Maybe he has access to better ones because he's a Colonel?" Alphonse suggested.

Edward huffed and didn't seem convinced; despite that he dropped the conversation. Not too long after the brothers fell into silence, Edward started shivering.

"Brother?" Alphonse asked, concerned.

"It's c-cold!" Edward's teeth started chattering. The chill around him set into his bones and seeped into his blood, all but stopping his heart. At the same time Edward's hair stood on end and his instincts told him to _run_. The cold held a firm grip on Ed's body, forcing him to stay put.

"Something's wrong." Alphonse picked Edward up and cradled him against his chest plate. Upon standing and stepping out into the aisle Alphonse saw that the rest of the passengers were in no better condition, clinging to one another for some semblance of warmth. There was a small hiss from behind Alphonse, making the boy whir around to see a silhouette of a hooded man through the window on the door of the train car.

"M-mom?" Edward asked, his pupils shrinking down to nearly invisible specks. Edward's face began paling, his body starting to twitch as he fell into a living nightmare. The same nightmare Alphonse knew all too well. It was the night they had preformed taboo alchemy, trying to resurrect their mother from the dead. That night Edward had lost his arm and leg, forcing him to use automail prosthetics; that night Alphonse had lost his entire body, forcing him to remain as a soul bound in an unfeeling suit of armor.

"Brother!" Alphonse cried, trying to pull his sibling from the trance. The door to the car opened and the hooded man stepped in. Actually, it would have stepped in if it had actually possessed feet. This _thing_ was floating off the ground, wearing a black, wispy cloak. It slowly approached the brothers, seeming to be very intent on Edward. Alphonse turned around, it finding that no one else saw this creature.

"Run!" Alphonse warned the other passengers, running away from the thing himself. It only followed him, matching his pace perfectly. Alphonse flung himself through the doors between cars, right into the next one. People in this car were affected just like the people in the last car.

Except one man, who bore a hard, set expression. He stood up, pulling a stick out of his pants and pointed it at the creature chasing Alphonse.

"Expecto Patronum!" The man annunciated clearly. A silvery-white burst of light shot from the tip of the man's stick. The white light took the form of a German Shepherd (1), which quickly ran down the aisle and around Alphonse, then attacked the floating black cloaked menace. The thing let out an inhuman screech then disappeared in a puff of black smoke. The other passengers were wincing with all the noise.

"Well dammit." The man muttered, stepping out into the aisle grumpily. Now that the man was in the moonlight Alphonse could get a good look at him. He was wearing old, beat up clothes, showing that his financials were suffering. His hair was a dark brown with a few grey hairs poking out here and there. He had a good few wrinkles and his eyes were a steely blue. Alphonse assumed this man was some kind of ex-military man by how collected and poised he carried himself. The look he currently expressed was one Alphonse had seen a lot, what with his brother being in the military.

"I'm sorry sir, but I didn't know what that-" Alphonse was cut off by the man.

"You saw it?" He demanded, his eyes studying Alphonse carefully.

"Well yes-" Alphonse wasn't allowed to finish his sentence.

"Get into the car in front of this one." The man ordered him. "Now."

"Al?" Edward asked meekly, exhaustion clearly showing on his face. Alphonse gave the man a nod and walked into the next car.

"Al? Why was it so cold?" Edward asked his brother. "Why did I start remembering all those bad things? Why do I feel so cold inside?" Edward seemed desperate to know, his body shaking.

"I don't know." It was the only answer Alphonse could provide. Though, despite lacking a gut, Alphonse had a gut feeling the man on the train knew the answer.

**-Present, with the strange man-**

With a grunt the man walked down the aisle, tapping each passenger with his stick. As he was about to leave the car he flicked his stick twice and whispered 'Obliviate'. The passengers all blinked a few times in confusion, and then went back to whatever they had been doing before Alphonse had rushed into the car moments before. The man rolled his eyes and repeated the process until he got to the back of the train. Once there, he turned around and walked back to where he had left Alphonse.

"Step out here." The man told the brothers, making them join him outside between cars.

"Who are you?" Edward asked, feeling uncomfortable.

"You're a State Alchemist." It wasn't a question; the man was staring right at the silver chain sticking out of Edward's pocket.

"Yes, I'm Edward Elric, the Fullmetal Alchemist." Edward introduced himself, very content that his brother had not been mistaken for him again.

"I'm Alphonse Elric sir." Alphonse bowed. "Do you know what that thing was?"

"A Dementor." The man gave them a simple answer. "So you two are the Elric brothers?"

"Yes." Edward and Alphonse both nodded.

"Aren't you both alchemists?" The man asked.

"Yes."

"…I can see why someone sent a Dementor after you then." The man sighed. "I'm Setia Truman." (2)

"Nice to meet you Mr. Truman." Alphonse bowed again. Edward gave the man a nod.

"So you're ex-military?" Edward asked conversationally.

"I retired two weeks ago if that's what you mean." Truman grunted. "You two will be accompanying me back to Central." It wasn't a suggestion.

"Hey! I've got important-" Truman cut Edward off.

"If you value your life, you will be returning to Central with me." Truman told Edward flatly. "Because I don't think you need to know what would have happened to you if that Dementor had actually got you."

"Eh?" Edward was confused by all this talk about Dementors. "What is a Dementor?"

"You remember being cold, right?" Truman asked Edward, who nodded. "A Dementor sucks all the happiness out of the air, all the warmth out of your heart. If it 'kisses' you it sucks out your soul."

"That sounds disturbingly like magic or something out of a fairy tale." Edward frowned, not liking that explanation.

"That's the best I've got." Truman shrugged. "I can't convince a blind man to see any better than you can, boy." He then turned around and walked back into the car were he had been sitting. Edward and Alphonse looked at each other.

"Al, can you honestly believe this guy!?" Edward scoffed, glaring in the direction Truman had gone. "That's got to be the biggest piece of bullshit I've heard in my life!"

"I'm not so sure, brother." Alphonse admitted. "You were too busy remembering that night to have seen it…."

"Seen what?" Edward asked, curious.

"The Dementor." Alphonse answered then started walking back. "It wasn't… human."

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Setia Truman, bad, good, or just not giving a shit anymore?

1- A German Shepherd is a breed of dog. They are long-haired with black fur on top and orange-brown hair on their underside. They are known to be good police dogs as they have an acute sense of smell and are very protective and vicious.

2- Setia is pronounced 'set-EE-ah'. Truman is pronounced 'true-MAN'.

Please drop a review!


	4. Change of Course

**Whispers Behind Backs**

**Author: Bar-Ohki Beta: ehxhfdl14**

Disclaimer: I own Setia! Nothing else…..

Other Stuff: Nothing much to say.

Beta's Stuff: A review a chapter keeps the author happy! hint hint

Chapter 3: Change of Course

**-Present, a train station between Rush Valley and Central-**

Edward and Alphonse were standing around waiting for Truman to return from the bathroom. Both boys were in a somber mood; their previous conversation about the so-called Dementor that had attacked Edward earlier was not exactly pleasant. After a while Alphonse spoke.

"Do you think we should call the Colonel?" Alphonse asked.

"Truman said not to talk about it with anyone." Edward reminded Alphonse. "I don't think we'll be seeing Mustang when we get back to Central."

"But he's your commanding officer!" Alphonse reminded Edward.

"Look Al, I don't think it's a good idea. What if these Dementors start going after Mustang?" Edward asked. "I mean I know Mustang is a manipulative bastard, but even he doesn't deserve to have strange things suddenly out for his life."

"What's that?" Alphonse pointed at a dog with a forked tail that was sitting the middle of the platform, ignored by everyone. The dog resembled a Jack Russell terrier, but the coloring was wrong. Edward stared at the creature, fighting every impulse he had to turn his head and dismiss or ignore it.

"Someone's sick idea of an alchemic prank." Edward said after a while, not letting out how confused he was by wanting to look away from the creature.

"It seems friendly." Alphonse sounded hopeful.

"I think we should probably take it with us." Edward said after a while. "Before some other alchemist finds it and tries to stick it in a lab for testing or something."

"What are we going to do with it?" Alphonse asked. "You won't let me keep a cat because we can't take care of it, what are we going to do with the dog?"

"I was going to dump it on Mustang actually. Or see if he knew someone we could dump the dog on." Edward explained. "I just don't think leaving an alchemically abused animal in the street is a good idea." Alphonse sighed and walked over to the dog.

"Hey boy!" Alphonse knelt down and held out his hand. The dog sniffed it, then stood up and walked past Alphonse, disinterested. Alphonse felt rejected. The dog went over to Edward and sat at the boy's feet. It sniffed both of Edward's legs and looked up at him. It had blue eyes and brown fur.

"Hey." Edward greeted the creature and patted it on the head. It barked happily back, jumping up onto Edward's chest to get a better shot at licking the boy's face.

"You're such a dog lover." Alphonse growled, unhappy.

"Hey-hey! Cut it out, that tickles!" Edward laughed as the dog continued to lick his face.

"Dammit." Both boys turned around to look at Truman, who was standing there looking even more tired and grumpy. "Let me see it."

"What?" Edward asked. Suddenly the friendly creature began to squirm. Edward looked down at the animal and watched it turn into a man. The transformation was quick and within seconds the brown haired, blue eyed man had pushed Edward onto his back and was strangling the boy.

"Don't move or I'll snap his neck." The once-dog told Truman.

"What do you want with the boy?" Truman asked.

"Just this." The man smirked. Edward felt a warm tickling, tingling sensation drive into his body. It started at his neck and spread throughout. It was not unpleasant, but it felt foreign.

"What are you doing?" Edward managed to ask.

"Conjunctivitis!" The man cried, a bright, yellow ball of light flew from Edward's hand and flew towards Truman.

"Tarantallegra!" Truman cried, having pulled out his stick and pointed it at the man. He ducked to the side just before the yellow ball could hit him. The man gasped and was hit with Truman's orange blast. With a jerk, the man let go of Edward, pulling the strange feeling away with him, and started dancing.

"You bastard!" The man cried, unable to stop dancing naked in public. People around them began to notice. There were pointed fingers and appalled gasps.

"Sorry sir, but you're disturbing in the peace." Edward said then proceeded to punch the man's lights out.

"Stupefy!" Someone cried from behind Edward and the boy's world went black.

Alphonse looked up at the new man, who also had a stick out and pointed at Edward. The man had blue hair and was smiling. He wore fancy, medieval looking robes. Truman rushed over to Edward, picked the boy up and started to run. Alphonse gasped and followed.

"Why are we running?" Alphonse asked.

"Because there's more of those guys coming. We don't have the manpower or space to fight back." Truman answered.

"What did you do just now?" Alphonse asked, referring to the orange light.

"A little trick I learned over the years." He left it at that. Quickly the group broke into the forest and kept on running.

"Why are you helping us?" Alphonse asked, now curious.

"This is what I did all my life up until two weeks ago. I haven't been in retirement long enough to break my habits." Truman sighed. "Part of me is screaming 'you're too old for this, stop'. The other part is telling me that I'll kill two innocent boys if I stop."

"If those men killed us it wouldn't be your fault!" Alphonse protested. "It'd be theirs."

"No, it'd be my fault for not doing anything." Truman sighed. "I hope your brother is willing to cooperate with me."

"What do you mean?" Alphonse asked.

"I have to figure out what that man did to him," Truman explained, "because in the worst case scenario, your brother will be dead by the end of the day." To that Alphonse had nothing to say. After another fifteen minutes or so of running, Truman stopped, set Edward down on the ground and proceeded to calm himself down.

"There's a stream nearby, go get some water." Truman ordered Alphonse while he walked around in circles, trying to slow his heart rate. Alphonse nodded and left in search of the water. During that time Truman had settled his heart and breathing and managed to wake Edward.

"I have it." Alphonse held up a bucket of water.

"Where'd you get the bucket?" Truman looked confused.

"He transmuted it." Edward answered Truman quickly. "So you want me to take my shirt off so you can 'inspect' me."

"I wouldn't be insisting if I didn't think this wasn't a life or death situation." Truman reminded Edward gravely.

"Brother, please do it." Alphonse begged, his tone full of worry. Edward sighed in defeat and took off his shirt. His neck was red and irritated from being strangled. Truman walked over with his stick out, muttering something all the way. Very quickly the tip of the stick started to glow green. Soon, the glow spread down the stick, making the entire thing emit a green light. Truman ran his stick all over Edward's body, growing more and more relieved with each passing moment.

"He didn't do anything to you." Truman announced happily. "We're really lucky."

Edward grunted in discontent and pulled on his shirt. "So what's with the stick?"

"It happens to be my wand." Truman answered as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.

"Wand. As in…_magical_ wand." Edward stated, hoping Truman would deny it.

"Yes." Truman nodded. "And before you say magic doesn't exist, I'd love to hear you explain what happened with the animagus earlier."

"Animagus?" Neither of the Elric brothers recognized the word.

"That'd be the dog-creature that turned into a man and then strangled you." Truman explained, cursing himself for letting that word slip.

"He's a homunculus." Edward remarked. "Like Envy, that can shape shift. Or a really well done chimera, I'm personally hoping for the latter."

"Homunculus? Chimera?" Truman wasn't too familiar with the words. "Are those alchemy terms or something?"

"A homunculus is an artificial human made through alchemy. In reality they are monsters that just look like humans. A chimera is what happens when multiple animals are fused together with alchemy. In this case, a human was used. Both kinds of transmutations are illegal." Edward explained.

"Well, I assure you that just now, it was neither a chimera nor a homunculus; can either shoot balls of strange colored light at other people?" Truman asked. Edward didn't have an answer.

"Look, boy, there's magic in this world. You can choose to ignore it if you like, but considering that it's after you I don't think that's a good idea." Truman told Edward flatly.

"What are we supposed to do now?" Alphonse asked.

"Get your asses to Central in one piece." Truman answered.

**-Present, the office of Colonel Mustang-**

"They seem to be fine now." Hawkeye commented, looking at the map.

"I just hope they're capable of surviving the trip home." Havoc remarked. "They've already been attacked once."

"Someone's helping them." Mustang pointed out. "How else would they have known to turn around?"

-----------

Whoo! Another chapter! What do you think of Setia? Good, bad? Or strange?


	5. With Strangers in a Strang Place

**Whispers Behind Backs**

**Author: Bar-Ohki Beta: ehxhfdl14**

Disclaimer: Don't own HP or FMA, so don't sue me.

Other Stuff: There's snow where I am, which is usual for the area.

Beta's Stuff: There's snow where I am, which is unusual for the area. It's a bit early this year.

Chapter 4: With Strangers in a Strange Place

**-Present, a forest between Rush Valley and Central-**

"So…Truman, where were you going?" Edward asked as they trudged through the forest to pass the time. Truman, half startled by the sudden noise and half confused by the question, stopped to stare at Edward.

"What do you mean, Elric?" Truman asked.

"Yes?" Alphonse asked, having only caught 'Elric'.

"I think it might be better if you called me 'Ed'…." Edward remarked, sweat dropping slightly at his brother's confusion. "I was just wondering where you were headed before you helped us."

"None of your business." Truman answered. "It doesn't matter now anyways."

"But-" Alphonse and Edward started to protest.

"I said it doesn't matter. What matters is surviving our trip back to Central." Truman reminded them. "Stay focused on that for now."

"You don't have to be so uptight. I am extremely focused, in fact so much I'm bored out of my mind." Edward snorted and rolled his eyes.

_You wouldn't be bored out of your mind if you understood the gravity of the predicament you are in, kid._ Truman thought to himself with a sigh. _What could _They_ want with these boys? Aside from the obvious, of course._

"Who's your commanding officer?" Truman asked after a while.

"Does it matter?" Edward asked.

"It determines whether or not you have to have your memory erased, so I guess it would matter to you." Truman shrugged. "It doesn't matter to me."

"My _memories erased_?" Edward asked, his expression fearful. Alphonse stopped too, concerned.

"Magic and its existence is insider information, and if you're under the wrong command, you'll be forced to forget about it." Truman answered casually, quite indifferent about the matter.

"And if I'm under the right command?" Edward asked.

"Then you keep your memories and you get to learn something new about your comrades." Truman answered with a shrug.

"I'm under Colonel Roy Mustang." Edward answered.

"Mustang? There's a _Mustang_ in the military? I'll be dammed!" Truman let out a laugh. "Well, you're fine then, kid!"

"What do you mean?" Edward asked.

"The Mustangs are a very old and powerful family of mages. They're usually anti-military, but they make strong wizards and witches." Truman explained. "I wouldn't be surprised if your commanding officer was one of the most powerful wizards in Central!"

"Wizard? Witch?" Alphonse and Edward were confused.

"Ah, that's the gender specific name for someone who can use magic. Or a mage if you want to be gender neutral about it. I'm a wizard myself." Truman explained.

"You're a lot more open…." Edward observed.

"That's bec-" Truman was cut off.

_"Expelliamus!"_ A bolt of green light shot out from the trees and hit Edward. Nothing happened.

"Expulso!" Truman cried pointing his wand at the offending tree, making the entire thing explode violently.

"Run!" Truman cried to the Elric brothers. Both took off quickly, rushing quickly into the deeper, darker part of the forest.

"Why do I get the feeling we're not going the right way?" Edward panted after he jumped over a tree root.

"I don't know." Alphonse answered. "It's getting really dark in here…."

"Eeek!" Edward screamed, startled more than anything else. He had bumped into a hollow tree where little grey, furry things were now crawling out of the cracks.

"I haven't seen _those_ before…." Alphonse remarked.

"I don't think they're very happy." Edward muttered, growing even paler. His golden eyes looked around and saw a path. Without further hesitation, Edward took off down the path, running away from the little bugs. Alphonse didn't need any prompting and followed his brother. Lucky for both of them, the little critters weren't very fast.

After a while both boys slowed down to a walk, quietly moving through the eerie woods.

"B-brother? Are we ever going to find a way out of here?" Alphonse asked quietly, anxious and tense.

"We survived being stranded on an island, how hard could this be?" Edward gave his brother a cocky grin, which would normally cheer up Alphonse. Today it did not.

"What if we get caught by those guys? What if they do that bad thing Truman was talking about?" Alphonse asked, getting slightly more hysterical.

"Al…!" Edward breathed.

"I t-think Truman is dead, he hasn't come back yet. If a Dementor comes, we're dead!" Alphonse sobbed. The armor fell to its knees in the wake of bereft hope. Meanwhile, Edward noticed some movement behind his brother.

"Behind you!" Edward cried, swinging around his brother to kick the rock that was flying towards Alphonse. The rock hit the tree and squeaked. It was then Edward and Alphonse saw that there was a little six-legged creature with beady black eyes and a nice set of sharp teeth. Its back was fused with what appeared to be a rock.

"Funny, the world seems okay again." Alphonse mumbled, no longer feeling desolate.

"I think we should leave." Edward nodded, trying to show his own resolve. He and Alphonse continued along the path a little longer, this time again running. As the forest grew darker, both boys had trouble seeing and eventually Edward tripped over a root, fell, and didn't stop falling.

"Al!" Edward cried as he felt himself plummeting into an unknown darkness.

"Brother!" Alphonse cried back from the top of the cliff. He peered down and could only fuzzily make out what he thought might be Edward's silhouette in the darkness. Alphonse wished for more light, he couldn't see his brother in this dark.

**Fump!** **Fump!** The sound of beating wings broke the newfound silence.

**Smack! **"Ow!"** Fump! Fump!** Edward had landed on something that stuck out, and was insistent on digging into his back. After feeling around while he tried to get himself into a better sitting position, Edward discovered he was on the back of some kind of bony, winged horselike creature.

"Brother!" Alphonse cried from afar. Edward, now sitting on the creature like he would a horse, turned around and looked for Alphonse.

"Al! No! Take me back to him!" Edward demanded, panicking. The creature cawed slightly and turned around, flying towards Alphonse. Soon, Edward was squinting in the near-black at his brother.

"…What is that?" Alphonse asked, unsure.

"It's friendly, I think." Edward stroked the creature fondly. "We can rest here, if you like." The creature cawed again and landed in the cliff edge. Edward climbed off and continued to stroke the thing.

"Hey Brother, I have your travel pack." Alphonse remarked after a while, opening up his chest plate to pull out a bag.

"Good, let's see if we can get some light-" Edward was cut off by the creature bumping him on the head with its chin. "-ow."

"I think our friend is telling us not to do that." Alphonse observed.

"Food then?" Edward asked, bracing himself for another rap on the head from the horse. He got none. Alphonse promptly pulled out an apple and some jerky. Edward quickly ate the jerky and offered the apple to the creature, which gladly accepted it. The boys sat in silence, both quietly thinking about what they were going to do next. Suddenly someone came crashing through the bushes. Startled, Ed and Alphonse both attacked the person and pinned them up against a nearby tree.

"I am getting way too old for this." Truman complained in his usual gruff tone.

"Truman!" Edward and Alphonse both gasped.

"Can I get off the tree now?" The Elrics let him go. "Okay, great. Do you two have any plans for the night?"

"It's already night? I thought the forest was this dark." Alphonse remarked, having lost all track of time.

"Well, it isn't much lighter during the day, but it's definitely night now." Truman assured them. The creature cawed in agreement.

"A Thestral? Well, I'll be dammed." Truman chuckled, recognizing the sound. It cawed again, then nuzzled Edward's chest. "I've never seen one of those interested in a muggle before."

"What does 'muggle' mean?" Alphonse asked, hoping it was a safe time and person to ask.

"It's someone who doesn't have magic. You two are muggles." Truman explained.

"So what's a mudblood?" Edward asked.

"Don't say that." Truman hissed, feeling offended.

"I wanted to know what it was; I didn't mean it in an offensive way." Edward explained himself.

"I'll tell you that one later." Truman answered. "At least I have some good news now." They couldn't see Truman's smile, but they heard it in his voice.

"They've stopped pursuing us?" Alphonse asked, hopeful.

"Not quite, but we can get to Central pretty quickly with the Thestral here." Truman explained. "You'd have to leave your armor behind though."

"…We can't." Edward said.

"Why is that?" Truman asked.

"This armor," Alphonse explained, "it- it's hollow."

"What!?" Truman gasped.

"I don't have a body." Alphonse said after a while.

"We did something really stupid and forbidden with alchemy. I lost two limbs and Al…." Edward left his sentence hang. "I bound his soul to the armor to keep it in this world."

"Well…if there's no person in it, it's still possible I suppose." Truman remarked after a while. "I'll have to admit this is my first encounter with an alchemically-wrought golem-"

"What the heck did you just call me?" Alphonse demanded, furious.

"You're a soul bound to a foreign object. Technically, that makes you a golem." Truman answered. "It doesn't mean you aren't also human, but it's the official word for someone in your predicament."

"I see."

"I can lighten your body slightly for the Thestral." Truman went on. "Then you two can ride it, while I take my broom."

"Broom, as in the thing you sweep the floor with." Edward stated.

"Well, yes, but this one's been enchanted to fly. It's a Nimbus 1986."(1) Truman explained. "Not that you'd know what that means."

"Obviously." Edward snorted. "Why don't you tell us?"

"I'm working on a need-to-know basis here." Truman left it at that. "Accio Broom!" There was a small hiss in the air, then the sound of an object smacking against a hand.

"What'd you do?" Edward asked.

"Grabbed my broom." Truman answered. "Appendo Cidi!" A white ball shot out of Truman's wand and hit Alphonse.

"Umm?" Alphonse queried without wording his question.

"That was the Feather Weight charm; I bet I could pick you up now." Truman chuckled. "Now you two get on the Thestral, we're moving out." The Elrics climbed onto the creature, Edward muttering calming phrases all the while.

"Come on!" Truman ran and jumped off the ground, now on his broom. The Thestral took off not long after. After the Thestral was by his side, Truman flew upwards, bringing all three of them out beneath the stars. This was significant because it meant you could see again. Truman held up his wand in the starlight.

"Point Me Central." He said, the wand jumped out of his hand and swung to point north. With a quick glance over his shoulder at the Elrics, Truman smiled. They nodded and the three of them sped off into the night.

**-Present, office of Colonel Mustang-**

"Colonel, you should go home." Hawkeye reminded her superior. It was late and Mustang had done nothing but watch the map with Edward and Alphonse's heads on it.

"He's flying this way." Mustang observed.

"You need rest." Hawkeye insisted.

"If I go home I won't sleep." Mustang pointed out.

"Lan would find a way, I'm sure." Hawkeye chuckled.

"Leave Lan out of this." Mustang gave her a look. There was a small pop from behind them.

"Lan is taking her Master back home." A little voice announced. "He's been at work far too long.'

"See, Lan knows what's good for you." Hawkeye smiled.

"You women just like to gang up on me." Mustang muttered. "I'm going home now."

"Good, I'll let you know if anything develops." Hawkeye saluted her superior as he gathered up his things and left.

----------

Ed has a Thestral friend!

1- This is around 1910 time wise, so they aren't up to the 2000s yet, but it is the latest in broom for its time.

Just who is Lan? And why the heck does Mustang actually listen to her?


	6. Arrivals

**Whispers Behind Backs**

**Author: Bar-Ohki Beta: ehxhfdl14**

Disclaimer: Do not sue the authoress, it only makes her grumpy and uninclined to update.

Other Stuff: I got a 'B' on my chemistry mid-term! In celebration I have written another chapter of this!

Beta's Stuff:

Chapter 5: Arrivals

**-Present, just outside of Central, in the air-**

Truman had spent the better part of the evening thinking to himself while the Elrics slept. Like any good soldier, Truman had been analyzing his situation, and more importantly, his options. _They_, the most notorious and dangerous Mage terrorist group in the known magic world, had targeted these two boys. He could see why _They_ had an interest in Alphonse, an alchemically-wrought golem. He could remember things and retained his personality (these are things not found in most magical golems). Earlier one of _Them_ had used Edward, the person, as a wand. Truman found that particularly disturbing.

He then thought about what would happen once they got to Central. They would go and see the boy's commanding officer, Roy Mustang. Truman frowned; the Mustang family was very anti-military, so if one of them was a part of it, they'd have to be a little off in the head. Also there was the fact this wizard had neglected to tell his subordinate of the existence of Mages. If your superior knew about magic, you did too, that was the rule. The fact that Edward had that knowledge kept from him did not sit well with Truman.

It was then Truman decided he'd take the boys straight to the Lieutenant Fuhrer, leave them there, and then confront Mustang himself.

"Brother, wake up!" Alphonse gave his sleeping older brother a little shake. Edward mumbled then went right back to snoring.

"Brother! We're almost at Central!" Alphonse tried again, shaking harder.

"Hmm?" Edward opened his eyes sleepily. The sun was now just starting to rise, lighting up the landscape around them in various shades of golds and reds. Edward took time to have a better look at the Thestral in the light. It was a bony, gaunt thing, with bat wings and eerie white eyes. Despite how ugly it was Edward could tell it was kind and caring.

"Look at that…." Alphonse pointed at Central, which was now being lit up in the morning light. "It's beautiful."

"Yeah…." Edward agreed.

"This way." Truman led them through a certain flight pattern. "In a minute they'll send someone up to cover us on our approach."

"Do they need to do that?" Edward asked.

"Hell yes." Truman gave them a 'you're actually in the military?' look. "You want people coming in like the people that are after you?" The Elrics were quiet, understanding.

Not too long after a man wearing a blue military uniform came flying up on a broom. He gaped openly when he saw Truman.

"Truman! I thought you retired!" The new comer gasped.

"I did." Truman answered. "These two needed a little help back here."

"All right." And with that they flew on, over Central City and down into the State Alchemist testing grounds. Edward stared at the materials they had out for the alchemists; they were still there, still as fresh as ever. The forest was lush and the ice hadn't melted. Neither of the Elrics said anything as they climbed off the Thestral.

"What will happen to her?" Edward asked, concerned about the well fare of his Thestral friend. Being a farm boy, Edward had inspected her gender, and if Thestrals were anything like horses, this one was a female.

"We'll put her in the stables for now." The man explained. "Depending on what happens she'll stay there and be your pet or be released into the wild again."

"Ah." Edward said. "You'll be good for them while you wait for me and Al, okay?" The Thestral cawed.

"See you later!" Alphonse said goodbye and the boys walked in after Truman and the escort.

"I need you two to come with me." Truman said.

"Aren't we going to see Colonel-" Edward was cut off.

"Look, you've got a really powerful group of people after you, all right? This needs to be brought to the Lieutenant Fuhrer's attention. I'll deal with your superior in the meanwhile." Truman told them. He led the boys through the complex series of halls that made up Central Headquarters, and soon they stood before the door of the office of Lieutenant Fuhrer Hakuro. With a quick knock, they heard a muffled invitation to enter and Truman and the Elrics walked into the office.

"Second Lieutenant Truman!" Hakuro stared at the man, surprised. "I thought you retired!"

"I _did_." Truman answered, not exasperated. "I found these two muggles that happen to be some of _Their_ targets. I think they'd need your help."

"Of course." Hakuro had a look at the boys. "Edward? Alphonse?"

"H-hello." Edward was nervous; this was the man that had helped him get his state certification. Edward thought Hakuro a good man, but that didn't make being in his office any less intimidating.

"Well, have a good day." Truman opened the door and left the office before anyone could say anything.

"I guess he really wanted to be retired." Hakuro shook his head.

"I don't mean to cause a disturbance." Edward bowed, embarrassed.

"I'd rather have you here, safe, than out in the field with radical groups after your head." Hakuro told them. "Take a seat; this is going to be a while."

"What will?" Alphonse asked.

"Figuring out what can be done at this point." Hakuro's voice was ominous.

**-Present, the office of Colonel Roy Mustang-**

Truman walked into the office. It was clean and orderly, as any office should be. On one of the desks was a map, a bewitched one. It had the Observation Charm on it, showing the face, general condition, and position of Colonel Mustang and his subordinates. It had been lying out, and judging from the chairs positioned around it, been observed recently. Truman regarded the map and made a few observations himself. Colonel Mustang was at a little box titled 'Ro's House' and was sleeping. He looked rather strung out and worried in his sleep. Truman wondered why that was.

The nearest subordinate was not the Elric brothers; it was a Master Sergeant Fuery. He was a mousy looking man with boxy glasses covering his brown eyes and short black hair. He looked very cantankerous and his condition was 'disgruntled'. He was down in the MCW. It was around then that Truman remembered who Master Sergeant Fuery was. The kid was a master of silent incantations; it was not a well known fact, but still there.

The second closest subordinate was a Warrant Officer Falman, who was in a worried sleep at the box labeled 'V's Dorm'. Said dorm was not too far from 'E's Dorm' or 'K's Dorm'. In Central City proper were three most subordinates. First Lieutenant Hawkeye, a damn good witch and sharpshooter, was in a worried sleep at 'Ri's Appt.'. There was also the head of a dog called 'Black Hayate' in the same room as Hawkeye. Second Lieutenant Breda was two blocks north of her at 'H's Appt.', also in a fitful sleep. Finally there was a Second Lieutenant Havoc at 'J's Pad', who was aware and worried; it was obvious that he was awake because he couldn't sleep.

"Huh." Truman muttered, wondering why Colonel Mustang and all his subordinates were so worn out and concerned.

"Who the hell are you?" A voice from behind demanded. Truman went stiff, wondering who could have just snuck into the room on him. "Put your hands up where I can see them." Complying, Truman put his hands up then slowly turned around to have a look at the man who snuck in on him.

He was a fairly tall man, with small, square specials and yellow eyes. He had a bit of stubble on his jaw and short black hair. He wore a frown and a glare.

"Who the hell are you?" The man repeated again.

"Ex-Second Lieutenant Setia Truman. I retired a few weeks ago. Recently I got caught up with two boys that were targeted by terrorists. I was taking them back here when I found out one of them was the Fullmetal Alchemist. I thought I would have a word with his superior before I washed my hands of the ordeal." Truman answered like he was reporting. The man in front of him was wearing the uniform of a Lieutenant Colonel, someone who Truman didn't really want to fuck with at this hour in the morning.

"So you know about _Them_?" The man asked, his stance relaxing slightly. "I see. I'm Lieutenant Colonel Maes Hughes. I'm doing Roy a favor by taking a shift looking over the map." Truman noted the informal reference to the Colonel. He correctly assumed that these two men had some kind of non-professional friendship.

"Yes, I had to fight some of _Them_ off, a Dementor included." Truman answered, realizing this man obviously knew a thing or two about Mages.

"A Dementor? Fuck." Hughes eyes went wide. "This isn't good." Hughes glanced at the map and saw where the Elrics were.

"So why aren't they here?" Hughes asked.

"Look, I don't know Colonel Mustang, but I do know that Mustangs don't just up and join the military. I also know that Elric was ignorant of Mages and should not be. Unless the rules have changed in the two weeks I have been gone, that is."

"Ah, I see where your suspicions come from," Hughes nodded, "but you're not properly informed. The entirety of the situation involving the Elric brothers is a very strange and complicated case. They are exceptions to just about any rule you can think of."

"Then explain why Colonel Mustang did nothing to protect his own men." Truman demanded.

"Because there was nothing he could do." Hughes answered.

"He could have Apparated!" Truman protested.

"He can't." Hughes shook his head.

"What do you mean 'he can't'? All wizards can Apparate!" Truman huffed.

There was a moment of silence.

"He's not a wizard." Hughes responded carefully after a long pause.

"…What?" Truman was stunned.

"Colonel Roy Mustang is the Flame Alchemist; I can personally assure you he is not a wizard." Hughes explained.

"Oh." Truman looked at the picture of Colonel Mustang on the map. "A Squib, among the Mustang family…."

"Don't call him that." Hughes was deadly serious.

"I won't." Truman assured the man. "It only makes me even more interested in speaking to him."

"Do you think leaving the Elrics with the Lieutenant Fuhrer was a good idea?" Hughes asked, looking at the map.

"Yes, why?" Truman then looked at the map himself.

Edward Elric was threatened and panicking.

"Shit."

------------

Hauko, good or bad? You decide.


	7. The Squib Colonel

**Whispers Behind Backs**

**Author: Bar-Ohki Beta: ehxhfdl14**

Disclaimer: If I'm writing fan fiction, I obviously don't own it.

Other Stuff: I'm sorry about the inaccuracy with the Thestrals. According to the fifth Harry Potter book, Thestrals can only be seen by _wizards_ who have seen death. In this story, Thestrals can be seen by anyone who has seen death. This inaccuracy has led me to re-read all of Harry Potter. Please forgive me if I do something like that again. I can't guarantee I'll go back and fix it, because right now I need the Elrics able to see Thestrals.

Beta's Stuff: I'm not the biggest HP fan so I'll try to look things up, but if there are any mistakes, feel free to tell us! I apologize for the mistake.

Chapter 6: The Squib Colonel

**-Present, Central Headquarters, office of Lieutenant Fuhrer Hakuro-**

After the first encounter with the Dementor, Edward had been extremely accepting of the idea of magic. The truth behind him accepting this idea and his later cooperation with Truman was credited to Edward's 'survival' mode. Generally when his focus was purely on surviving, Edward dismissed details and coped with whatever was thrown at him with indifference.

Now that Edward was not hell-bent on surviving, he could examine the finer details of not only what happened, but of the inner significations behind what happened. Once Edward's mind processed that he was safe, he could afford to sit down and think. And the longer Edward thought about magic, the more ill at ease he became. Magic just wasn't possible! It was illogical, nonsensical, didn't make sense at all! There had to be a scientific explanation for all the things that had been going on the last few days.

Which is why Edward was thinking that the Lieutenant Fuhrer had gone off his rocker.

Alphonse, contrary to his brother, did believe that magic might exist. He also very strongly believed that the so-called Mages paid some kind of equivalent exchange for their powers. Like his brother, Alphonse knew there was a scientific explanation for all that had happened. Currently Alphonse was trying to appreciate the Lieutenant Fuhrer's 'thoughtfulness'. He was currently giving the brothers a watered-down, basic explanation of magic, Mages, and the community that lived in the shadows of their lives. Unfortunately for the Lieutenant Fuhrer, he was being condescending, patronizing the Elrics as though they were nothing more than ignorant, stupid children.

Alphonse might be a pacifist, but he certainly didn't take shit from anyone.

"-so that's why you'll be transferred under my command until a later date." Hakuro finished, smirking inwardly. He had purposefully set it up so that the only viable option was to have the Fullmetal Alchemist moved under his command for safety. To his surprise Edward stood up, shaking slightly. It was then that it dawned on the Lieutenant Fuhrer that Edward might not have had not accepted the idea of Mages.

"I'm not going to be transferred." Edward told him bluntly, not leaving room for argument. "You're a nice guy, but you're just full of bullshit."

"Be reasonable, Elric!" Hakuro protested.

"I am." Edward said simply and made moves to leave the office. Hakuro panicked, pulling out his wand to cast a spell to keep the alchemist in his room. Edward and Alphonse recognized what that meant and froze, both feeling the thrill of fear coursing through their veins. They knew that they were not safe, not even with Hakuro.

"Now, you should sit down." Hakuro pointed at the chair Edward had been sitting in. Carefully Edward sat back down, his eyes filled with apprehension.

**-Present, Central Headquarters, MCW-**

Kain Fuery was looking into a glass of water on his bedside table. Normally when a Mage scries for something, they use translucent, luminous or reflective objects such as crystals, but Fuery didn't have access to one so he stuck with the crystal-clear glass of water. He had heard earlier from Falman to try and figure out where the Elrics where and what was happening to them. Falman had neglected to produce any details, which meant that it was probably bad news.

After a few more seconds of concentration he was able to see the Elrics. They were sitting in the Lieutenant Fuhrer's office, cornered and shaken but defiant. Hakuro had his wand out and was all but screaming at them. Fuery frowned; this was certainly not a good development.

"Ma'am, am I free to go?" Fuery asked the nurse.

"Yes, sure." She said after flicking her wand once.

"Thank you." Fuery climbed out of the bed, got dressed and grabbed the nearest broom. It happened to be a Lightning Rod. (1) With a small smile, Fuery jumped onto the broom and took off, flying across town in the almost-gone dawn. It did not take him long to land in the yard of Colonel Roy Mustang. The Colonel's home was small, not too surprising as it held only one man. It had a yellow exterior with white trim. It looked very much like a cutesy storybook cottage. Fuery rolled his eyes and rapped the door twice.

Moments later the door opened to reveal a little humanoid creature. It was all bony elbows and scrawny, with a big head and large, floppy ears. This creature had short, blue hair and large yellow eyes. It was currently wearing a rather nice looking green dress.

"Hello Mr. Fuery." The little creature said, identifying herself as female.

"Hello Lan, I need the Colonel up and ready, there's an emergency." Fuery told her. He was gentle, but still serious. With a 'pop' Lan disappeared. A loud yelp from upstairs was soon heard. Fuery chuckled, imagining Roy Mustang finding himself suddenly in the running shower.

**-Just a few seconds ago, Roy's House, master bedroom-**

Lan appeared in her master's bedroom to see if he was still sleeping. She smiled, snapped her fingers, making the shower turn on. She snapped her fingers again and Roy Mustang was now in the shower, naked. He yelped as he was suddenly jarred awake.

"There's an emergency, be quick!" Lan yelled through the closed door and over the water. She heard an affirmative noise. Lan then went about readying a uniform for her master, then making his bed when she was done with that. With another 'pop' Lan was in the kitchen fixing some breakfast, just toast and coffee because her master did not have time to eat an entire meal. With another 'pop' Lan was in Roy's office picking up and gathering any papers that would be necessary for a day at work.

Roy made his shower quick. He dried himself off the best he could, then threw on his uniform as he walked down the hall to the kitchen. He nodded to Fuery as he passed by the entryway. Without thought, Roy ate his toast and drank his coffee. When he finished that Lan appeared again with another 'pop'. She handed him a small stack of papers.

"Have a good day at work." Lan wished him, she always did every morning.

"You too, Lan." Roy smiled and walked right into the entry way.

"The Elrics are in a lot of trouble, sir." Fuery said simply. He had sat down on the broom again and looked at his commanding officer expectantly. With a grunt, Roy hauled himself onto the broom, wrapping his arms around Fuery's waist for support. Fuery nodded and kicked off the ground, sending them both into the air.

"Confundus Maximus." Fuery muttered out loud, waving his wand in a complicated pattern.

"You're going to confuse everyone?" Roy asked, slightly confused himself, but not from the spell.

"If they see us, they'll be so confused they'll never be able to sort out what they saw." Fuery smiled.

"Ah, another one of your magical strokes of genius. You never cease to amaze me, Fuery." Mustang chuckled.

"They don't pay me enough." Fuery laughed.

"You really need to be promoted, they didn't give you the proper rank either." Mustang mused.

"Well, if the Lieutenant Fuhrer knew just how good I was, I'd be a major and working for him." Fuery made a face. "I'd rather be an underappreciated Master Sergeant if it means I can have a commanding officer that cares about me."

"Thanks." Mustang smiled. He had very loyal subordinates. "And Fuery, if you want to be more helpful, please don't punch someone's lights out because of me."

"Yes sir." Fuery landed the broom at the designated landing spot. Both men got off the broom and rushed inside, Fuery pausing for only a moment to put the broom away.

"They're in the Lieutenant Fuhrer's office." Fuery explained. "He's got his wand out."

"Shit." Mustang muttered. Within a few minutes they were standing in front of the door to the Lieutenant Fuhrer's office. Mustang quickly knocked on the door.

"I'm busy, come back later." Hakuro called through the door. Mustang rolled his eyes and opened the door.

"Sorry for the interruption Lieutenant Fuhrer sir, but I want my subordinate back." Mustang said, giving the Lieutenant Fuhrer a long look.

"He's not your subordinate anymore. He's being transferred." Hakuro told Mustang flatly.

"You need his consent for that, and it doesn't look to me like you have it." Mustang observed. Edward looked out of sorts and perhaps even afraid. It was the most child-like state Mustang had ever seen the boy in, and it was not a good thing to see.

"How are you going to keep him safe?" Hakuro demanded.

"He will be staying with me and Lieutenant Hawkeye for the time being." Fuery answered, coming into the room.

"So you can't handle me by yourself, eh, squib?" Hakuro laughed. Mustang held himself firm, but was obviously uncomfortable with being called that name. Fuery was furious, but he held himself back.

"Why do you suppose the door is open?" Hughes' voice carried into the room from the hall. Edward and Alphonse turned around to see Hughes and Truman appear in the entryway.

"What the hell?" Hakuro muttered.

"Ed, Al, Truman here just told me about your ordeal. Why don't we get some food in you two?" Hughes suggested quickly, knowing the boys wanted out of that room.

"Sure!" Edward said loudly and got out of his chair and walked out of the room, Alphonse hot on his heels.

"I'll go with them." Truman offered.

"Why not, you look like you could use a coffee or two." Hughes smiled, casually putting his arm over Truman's shoulder and led the lot out of the room. Hakuro looked like he was about to protest, but said nothing.

"So tell me what you did to him." Mustang demanded once the Elrics were gone.

"I didn't do anything!" Hakuro protested.

"He looked like a cornered animal." Mustang told Hakuro bluntly. "And I doubt any Seer is going to know what would happen if he snapped."

"Why is that?" Hakuro asked.

"Because it'd probably be the end of the world." Mustang was deadly serious. "I'm the one responsible for the safety of the Elric brothers, and since you said you weren't going to help me, I am telling you to keep your nose out of my business."

"You have no right to-!" Hakuro was cut off.

"Did I come at a bad time?" A new voice asked. It belonged to a black haired man with a tan and eye patch over the left eye. He was old and wore the same military uniform everyone else was wearing, save for the rank.

"Fuhrer!" Mustang and Fuery saluted the man.

"Of course not Fuhrer sir." Hakuro saluted, and then motioned the man to come inside.

"Well, what has happened?" The Fuhrer asked.

"Fuhrer Bradley sir, the Elrics has been targeted by _Them_." Mustang explained.

"Oh?" Bradley's eyebrows shot up in surprise. "What is being done about their safety?"

"Right now, sir, they are being grounded in Central with Master Sergeant Fuery and First Lieutenant Riza Hawkeye watching over them." Mustang explained. "This until I find a more permanent solution."

"Do you have any ideas about a more permanent solution?" Bradley asked.

"My preference would be to assign Major Elric a Mage subordinate." Mustang explained. "But there's a bureaucratic process and selection of the individual that must be done…."

"Of course, that's reasonable." Bradley smiled.

"Thank you sir." Mustang bowed. "I shall leave and inform the Elrics immediately."

"Please do that." Bradley nodded. Mustang and Fuery left with salutes. Bradley turned to Hakuro.

"You know our policy on name calling, Hakuro. Stop referring to the Flame Alchemist as a squib." Bradley told Hakuro flatly.

"Yes sir."

**-Present, Central Headquarters, mess hall-**

Edward and Truman were grateful to have some food. Meanwhile Hughes sat there studying them all carefully.

"What happened in the Lieutenant Fuhrer's office?" Hughes asked.

"He went off his rocker then pointed one of those wand stick things at me." Edward said between bites of food. He didn't look amused.

"Ah." Hughes understood that well enough.

"Is there anyone else we know that's a Mage?" Alphonse asked.

"Well, Hawkeye, Fuery, and Gracia are all Mages." Hughes counted them off on his fingers. "I was extremely shocked to find out I married a witch. She didn't tell me until _after _we got married."

"Gracia's a witch!?" Edward spurted out his coffee, making it splatter all over the table. He stared at Hughes.

"Yes she is. Magic is a freaky and weird thing." Hughes answered. "It honestly scares me, more than alchemy does. And I have to live with the fact that it exists because there's a high chance my daughter will one day grow up to be a witch."

"There's got to be a logical explanation for magic." Edward insisted.

"If there's someone that could give you one, it'd be Roy." Hughes answered. "He comes from a family of Mages, but isn't one himself."

"He's not a wizard?" Edward was looking accusingly at Truman when he asked this.

"Wizards can only use magic; us muggles are the only ones that can use alchemy." Hughes explained.

"…What does 'squib' mean?" Edward asked.

"It's a term with rather degrading connotations for someone without the ability to cast spells born into a family of Mages." Hughes answered. "Roy happens to be one."

"He must have some pretty supportive people back home." Alphonse mused.

"…I think it'd be best if he explained that one to you himself." Hughes ominously remarked.

Mustang and Fuery arrived at the table. Mustang promptly sat down, banged his head into the table and didn't move.

"You okay Roy?" Hughes asked. Mustang moaned in response.

"The Fuhrer saved us." Fuery explained, sitting down. "If he hadn't stepped in things would have been pretty nasty."

"I don't doubt it." Hughes was now rubbing Mustang's back. "Do you need a nap?"

"Hey, Colonel Shit, you still with us?" Edward demanded.

"Brother!" Alphonse sounded exasperated.

Mustang lifted his head to reveal the dark circles under his eyes and very tired expression.

"I was woken up and rushed here to save your sorry ass from the Lieutenant Fuhrer." Mustang told Edward. "I am too tired, too stressed, and_way_ too pissed off right now to deal with your antics. Grow up."

"We were wondering if there's a scientific explanation for magic…." Alphonse politely moved the topic of conversation.

"Magic is the art of channeling supernatural forces. All Mages need a focus, namely a wand, to do this. You take away a wand, any Mage is basically useless. I haven't bothered to study the 'why's of magic in detail, but I assure you it exists." Mustang explained, rubbing his temples tiredly. "Several so-called mythological creatures actually exist. I have encountered a harpy before, and it wasn't fun."

"So dragons exist?" Edward asked after a while.

"Yes. We've got a couple in special cages in this building actually." Mustang remarked. "Not all muggles are very accepting of magic, so for the most part Mages stay in hiding and use memory erasing spells to keep muggle ignorant of their existence. You do know what I mean by a muggle right?"

"Yes, Truman told us earlier." Edward explained. He felt comforted slightly by Mustang's words and seriousness on the matter. Mustang wasn't off his rocker, that Edward knew.

"The reason why we have Mages is, I think, because of those creatures. They have magic too, so part of the human race evolved to be able to fight them off. On the other hand they are a minority in society and are usually not liked." Mustang smiled. "That's the price they pay for it."

"I see." Edward was quiet after a while, thoughtful.

"How come the boys didn't know about Mages sooner?" Truman asked.

"There's a six month orientation training Fullmetal would have to undergo." Mustang explained. "It would interfere with their travels and goals, so I kept having them put it off. The other issue is that Alphonse could not undergo the training and Edward can't legally talk about with him."

"That almost sounds thoughtful of you." Edward remarked sarcastically.

"And you are?" Mustang dismissed Edward's comment and looked Truman in the eye.

"Setia Truman, I retired a couple of weeks ago." Truman answered truthfully.

"Ah." Mustang nodded. "Well I think we should head back to my office, I can show you two what we know about the group that's after your heads." The group stood up and began walking.

"Who are they?" Alphonse asked.

"We like to call them _Them_." Fuery explained. "We don't know_Their_ name."

"That's interesting…." Edward muttered.

"I almost wish Lan was here to give us cookies right now…." Hughes remarked as they walked back to Mustang's office.

"Be careful what you wish for Maes," Mustang pulled open the door to his office to reveal Lan standing there with a plate of cookies, "you might just get it."

"Master, you need to rest!" Lan told Mustang very a matter of fact tone.

"Yeah, yeah." Mustang waved her off and sat down at his desk, moaning slightly again.

"What…the…hell?" Edward muttered, staring at the creature.

-----------

Edward only listens to science and logic, how narrow-minded of him!

1- Lighting Rod, an Amestrian precursor to the Firebolt. It was not as fast or as maneuverable, but it was definitely the best broom of its time. The Firebolt is the best kind of up to date broom in the Harry Potter books.

Next chapter: we get to hear a few things about _Them_!


	8. Who are 'They' anyway?

**Whispers Behind Backs**

**Author: Bar-Ohki Beta: ehxhfdl14**

Disclaimer: leaves blank to see if anyone is going to comment

Other Stuff: I'm a little late on this update, but there are some good reasons, well I hope they are good ones. First off, I only got three reviews last chapter, that doesn't make me feel very inspired about writing more. In fact it makes me sad. Second, there was a rather large mass of schoolwork and mid-terms slamming me in the face last week. Third, I'm sick, I can't concentrate very well. These are why today's update it short.

Beta's Stuff: Dear readers of this fic- I've said it before and I'll say it again: _**Feed. The. Author**_ Review, people! Review!

Chapter 7: Who are 'They', anyway?

**-Present, Central Headquarters, office of Colonel Roy Mustang-**

"I could say the same thing about your pants." Lan retorted, pointing at Edward's skintight leather pants. "Are you just waiting for some girl to jump you in those?"

_"Excuse me?!"_ Edward squeaked, extremely distressed by Lan's comment.

"Lan, if you want me to rest, you aren't going about it the right way." Mustang gave the creature a tired, exasperated look.

"He insulted me." Lan harrumphed and stuck her nose in the air.

"Edward's new to magic, give him some time." Mustang pleaded. Lan didn't look convinced, but she shrugged and started handing everyone cookies, even Edward.

"What are you?" Alphonse asked Lan politely when she handed him a cookie.

"Lan, the free house-elf!" Lan introduced herself, then proceeded to merrily ignore everyone else in the room as she walked over to Mustang. She jumped on the back of the chair he now occupied and began to rub his shoulders with her bony hands. Mustang's face relaxed visibly.

"Um?" Edward didn't know what to say.

"She works for the Colonel." Fuery explained quickly. "Doesn't she get weekends off?"

"If she wants to take them." Roy answered.

"Most of the time she's on hand to bake cookies and rub backs at a moment's notice." Hughes chimed in jokingly. Lan readily picked up a stapler and threw it at Hughes with a hiss.

"We're getting distracted from the subject at hand." Mustang pulled himself forward, out of Lan's grip. She glared at him momentarily then there was a small 'pop' and she was gone.

"Do tell us everything you know about _Them_." Truman sounded almost challenging.

_"Them_, the name many have bestowed onto a mysterious and ancient terrorist organization. _They_ have been around for several centuries causing mayhem and mischief here and there. Usually they are subtle and do not exhibit open crimes, such as kidnapping. _They_ have been known to cast spells on muggles to trick them into coming to _Them_. We believe their members are wizards, or people under the affect of the Imperius Curse." Roy all but recited. "That's the basic story."

"Imperius?" Alphonse asked.

"The mind-control curse." Fuery answered. "Gives you complete control of the actions of another, but it can be resisted with some work."

"So, if _They_ are terrorists, what's _Their_ motive?" Edward asked.

"No one is any more sure of that than they are of the _Their_ members. Anyone could be one of _Them_." Hughes explained darkly.

"Usually we can figure out _Their_ targets with some pretty advanced foreseeing and detection charms." Fuery added.

"We don't know _Their_ reason for targeting the both of you, but I think everyone here can list a good few reasons why _They_'d want you." Mustang gave Edward a small smile.

"If that's all you have to say, then you know very little." Truman scoffed.

"I just started my investigation of the materials available. The Lieutenant Fuhrer hasn't been particularly helpful in this matter." Mustang sighed.

"_They_ are fond of experiments." Truman stated, silencing the room. "Children, usually gifted ones, are _Their_ prime targets. _They_ are also inclined to taking adults, using the Imperius Curse, to make them help _Their_ cause, sometimes as a test subject, other times as a scientist."

"Sounds like a rogue alchemist."(1) Edward muttered, grimacing.

"_They_ are not fond of the government, so _They_ like to cause it problems and throw the country into turmoil so that _They_ can do more of _Their_ experiments in peace." Truman continued. "_They_ have a bad habit of sticking magic where it doesn't belong. _They_ are also an extremely large organization; I have raided countless of _Their_ outposts, but, like the rest of the military, know nothing of _Their_ headquarters itself. I do believe _They_ have members on the inside of the military."

"You're Second Lieutenant Truman." Fuery stated, it wasn't a question. "You're the guy that's always sent out to deal with _Them_, our expert."

"Yeah, the funny thing is that I wasn't given a replacement to train." Truman sighed. "Only proves that _They_ have an inside person or two. No one too high up in our command, or theirs for that matter. Leaked information tends to get misinterpreted."

"So we can't trust other Mages then?" Hughes looked weary.

"It isn't that hard to do, Hughes." Mustang almost laughed.

"No, you can't trust other Mages." Truman answered, deadly serious.

"Edward, what did Hakuro tell you?" Mustang asked. "Surely he proposed some kind of solution to your problem."

"Put me under his command." Edward answered.

"That only puts you closer to _Them_." Truman hissed in annoyance. "You're much safer under Mustang here."

"Why's that?" Alphonse asked.

"Because Mustang here has a bad record with Mages, which makes them want to stay away from him." Fuery explained. "He was the number one Mage exterminator in Ishbal."

"And my family has an anti-military reputation among other things…." Mustang trailed off, looking regretful. "That and I will be considered the disgrace of society once they find out what I am."

Edward and Alphonse remembered Fuery's fight, the insults that had been directed at the Colonel, and the degrading term 'squib'.

"You're only shit if you believe what they tell you." Edward looked Mustang in the eye.

"I never did." Mustang answered. "And I am going to demand that you don't get into fights over name calling. But with your short temper…." Edward didn't have his usual tantrum.

"Look, Bastard, I'm not going to punch someone's lights out because they are jealous of your successful career. You're not worth it." Edward was deadly serious. Mustang found that extremely amusing, but refrained from laughing at Edward's unexpected display of maturity.

"Good, I like fighting my own battles." Mustang nodded, his voice staying remarkably steady despite the urges to chuckle.

"So what are we going to do about you Ed?" Hughes asked. "The thing with Hawkeye and Fuery is temporary. Since you two need to move around."

"…Why do they need to move around?" Truman asked after a while.

"We're looking for a way to put ourselves back together." Alphonse answered, Edward nodded.

"…I see." Truman remembered that Alphonse was a golem, that couldn't be a good place for the boy. "I have a solution."

"I'm all ears." Mustang looked relieved and hopeful.

"I'll re-enlist," Truman paused, "as Major Elric's subordinate."

That was not what anyone had been expecting him to say.

------------

Truman under Edward's command? What the hell is he thinking? Is there an ulterior motive? Hell, can we trust him?

1- A rogue alchemist is an alchemist that, for whatever reason, regularly partakes in illegal alchemy. It might also be someone who has attempted human transmutation, or is obsessed with researching it and planning to do so. Shou Tucker is an example of one such individual.

It's amazing how little anyone knows about _Them_. Even Truman, the expert, knows practically nothing. Ouch.


	9. Discussions

**Whispers Behind Backs**

**Author: Bar-Ohki Beta: ehxhfdl14**

Disclaimer: Don't sue me, please.

Other Stuff: I've still been sick and feeling icky, but the good news is that I am showing signs of improvement! Yay! The bad news is that I missed some of school and have to make up insanely cruel labs now. I was really, really happy with the reviewer turnout this round. Thank you guys so much!

Beta's Stuff: Email got into the habit of eating the chapters sent to me.

Chapter 8: Discussions

**-Several days later, Central Headquarters, private office of Colonel Roy Mustang-**

Truman was sitting in front of Colonel Mustang, still wearing civvies. Truman's paperwork for re-enlistment had been submitted, and it was just a matter of time before he was issued a uniform again. Truman had gone shopping and got himself clothes that still had all of their original fabric (without holes for that matter). Truman's choice of clothes was still dingy and grimy, but at least they no longer looked seriously abused on top of that. In contrast, Colonel Mustang has a perfect appearance, not a hair out of place.

"Why are you helping the Elrics?" Mustang asked after a long, long silence.

"I don't like the thought of _Them_ taking any more children for experiments." Truman answered.

"You were married, once." Mustang stated, having learned this from a background check.

_"They_ killed her." Truman answered after a pause.

"And took your children on top of that." Mustang summed.

"Not right away, but yes, that is what happened in the end." Truman admitted.

"Are you going to be sharing that information with the Elrics?" Mustang inquired, honestly curious.

"Not unless I need to." Truman answered. "I work on a need to know basis."

"…How much have the Elrics told you?" Mustang got a confused look, which made him clarify. "About their past, what happened to them."

"Alphonse is an alchemically-wrought golem. He landed himself in that position because of some kind of accident his brother was also involved in. That's all I know." Truman reported quickly.

"The official story is that Alphonse's armor is _not_ hollow, but that he just likes to wear it as a hobby. Edward lost his arm and leg in border skirmishes with Ishbal, since he's from the East." Mustang informed Truman. "The actual story is deeper and very complicated."

"There's more to it than two boys getting involved in something much greater than themselves and then paying for it?" Truman cocked his head.

"I don't feel like it's my place to tell you that story." Mustang admitted. "But it would be in your favor to learn it as soon as you can."

"And why would that be?" Truman asked, raising a weary eyebrow.

"Their story is the reason Edward enlisted in the first place, it explains their research topic, and also why I am doing everything in my power to keep their journey unhindered." Mustang was deadly serious. "Do we have an understanding?"

"Yes sir." Truman nodded.

"Good, this is the last time we will probably ever talk directly," Mustang produced a wry smile, "so I would like to thank you for looking after the Elrics in advance."

"What do those boys mean to you?" Truman asked as he got up to leave.

"…The future." Mustang had spent a decent bit of time contemplating his choice of words. He looked very satisfied.

"…You'll make a good father someday." Truman left the office without another word. A little while later Edward and Alphonse came in, the former.

"Have a seat, Fullmetal." Mustang gestured towards the couch. Edward sat down in with a large flop typically seen in teenage males.

"What do you want, Colonel Shit?" Edward grumbled angrily.

"Major Edward Elric, Fullmetal Alchemist," Mustang stated, "you're about to get a promotion and I am urging you to take it seriously."

"Promotion?" Edward frowned, confused.

"Right now you're allowed to run around without a uniform and are given minimal responsibilities aside from your research. Your official rank is 'Major', but your duties are not that of a full Major. This promotion will be giving you full authority of your rank." Mustang explained. "You have new privileges and responsibilities. Today I'm going to brief you on them."

"Wait, does that mean I could order the First Lieutenant around?" Edward asked, sitting up.

"Brother!" Alphonse was exasperated.

"Not quite. Hawkeye is my direct subordinate, she does not answer to you. On the other hand she will have to respect your rank and do minor,_reasonable_ tasks at your command." Mustang clarified. "If I hear you're running any of my men down to the library on your behalf I will personally fry you. As a full Major you are the next in command, which means if something happens to me, you're in charge."

"Brother in charge?" Alphonse quivered at the thought.

"Al!" Edward cried indignantly.

"Which means you have to understand the work I do." Mustang patted the stack of paperwork on his desk. "And paperwork is tricky and complicated."

"I _am_ not going to do that for you." Edward hissed. "Do it yourself."

"I'm asking you to understand how to do it, not to do it." Mustang rolled his eyes. "You'll be expected to wear your uniform when you're on base and you'll have a subordinate."

"I don't have a uniform." Edward admitted. Alphonse nodded.

"Then go down to the Distributor's, there'll be one issued for you." Mustang glared. "Next time I see you, you _will_ be wearing one. Now, then. There are some rules and guidelines to having a subordinate."

"So Truman is going to be under brother's command?" Alphonse asked.

"Yes, Truman answers and reports to Fullmetal and to Fullmetal only. You will be given all of Truman's mission briefings and orders. And, of course, Truman's behavior is your responsibility." Mustang smirked. "Truman will give you reports, which I expect you to summarize and pass onto me, is that clear?"

"Yeah, yeah." Edward waved his hand. "I get it."

"Also you'll get to decide if someone gets to borrow him or cooperative missions." Mustang went on. "But the most important thing is that Truman's personal safety is in your hands."

"His safety?" Alphonse and Edward blinked.

"All commanders are responsible for the safety of their subordinates." Mustang went on. "That is why loyalty is critical for a good commander." Mustang nodded. "You'll get a packet containing the exact list of your new responsibilities when you get officially promoted. For now, you are dismissed."

"Bye." Edward got up to leave, Alphonse at his heels. Unexpectedly, Edward paused before leaving. "Mustang, is there any chance I could research magic?"

"…I'll tell you about that avenue when Truman's back in blue." Mustang answered. "Until then keep it out of your head."

"Fine, Bastard." Edward waved once and left the office.

**-A week later, Central Headquarters, office of Colonel Mustang-**

"Edward!" Breda gasped. The teen was in full uniform, looking taller and older. Following at the correct and proper distance behind him was Truman, also in uniform. Truman had gotten a haircut and had gotten shaved to reveal a handsome appearance, but not as dashing as Roy Mustang, of course.

"You clean up well." Havoc jibbed at Truman.

"Does it really matter?" Truman asked, still as gruff as ever.

"Colonel Shit's in, isn't he?" Edward asked.

"Yes." Hawkeye nodded. Edward and Truman walked into the office.

"I wonder where Alphonse is…." Havoc mumbled, half curious.

"He's with Fuery in the library." Falman was quick to answer. "This is Truman and Edward's official orientation and Alphonse isn't allowed to attend, you know that."

"Right." Breda nodded. He had gotten much too used to thinking of Edward and Alphonse as one.

**-Present, in the private office of Colonel Mustang-**

"Well Fullmetal," Mustang walked over and pinned a little insignia of the military on the collar of Edward's uniform, "you are now officially Major Elric."

"There's a difference?" Edward raised an eyebrow.

"In theory you're more responsible now." Mustang chuckled, as though he was laughing at some inside joke.

"You're just being an ass." Edward glared.

"Well, Second Lieutenant Truman, welcome back." Mustang walked over and shook Truman's hand, exchanging salutes.

"Before you ask, I have looked over the 'manual' you gave me." Edward told Mustang.

"Good to hear." Mustang sat back down. "Now we can discuss your research. Yes, you can look into magic as a possible answer, having Truman present has opened that door to you much wider than it ever was for me."

"What do you mean 'wider'?" Truman asked.

"I'm the only alchemist with any expertise on the science of magic." Mustang admitted. "Most Mages are uncooperative and really don't like someone analyzing their 'art'."

"And I would be of help how?" Truman raised an eyebrow.

"You have respect among the Mages here, I do not." Mustang answered. "Here's all of my work on the subject. I am almost certain a plausible answer can be found in magic…." Edward gasped and took the stack of documents from Mustang's desk.

"Why didn't you tell us sooner?" Edward demanded.

"Because I didn't want you to get hurt." Mustang answered. Edward glared and made moves to continue to argue but Mustang beat him to the punch. "Mages are powerful and not the friendliest."

"That's not true." Truman gave Mustang a flat look.

"Not in my experience." Mustang remarked darkly.

"Is this all?" Edward asked, sounding impatient.

"Yes." Mustang nodded. Quickly Edward and Truman rose to their feet, saluted Mustang and moved to leave.

"And Edward-" Mustang called, making the boy stop, "please be careful." The Colonel was worried, very worried.

----------

I had to establish some of the changes in Edward's life. He's now responsible for someone else's life, someone he doesn't know very well. We'll find out a bit more about Mustang and his reasons later, but next chapter the action will pick up again, promise.


	10. The HQ Within HQ

**Whispers Behind Backs**

**Author: Bar-Ohki Beta: ehxhfdl14**

Disclaimer: I've written so many of these things, and the fact hasn't changed. I own nothing! Except Truman. I own him.

Other Stuff: I managed to get a program to give me an error and give me output at the same time. A remarkable feat if I do say so myself. Sorry about the late update, I had a friend over this weekend and a lot of homework on top of that. Juggling a social life, school, fan fiction, and artwork is difficult, and sometimes I don't always get around to everything. That and during the week I've been bogged down and somewhat uninspired…..

Beta's Stuff: It seems that the skill of doing many things at once is more and more frequently used each year…

Chapter 9: The Headquarters Within Headquarters

Edward had a big smile on his face; he was excited. There was finally a new plausible lead to follow, one that probably wouldn't involve killing people.

"Sir?" Truman asked Edward, making him stop in his tracks.

"…Did you just call me 'sir'?" Edward looked confused.

"Well, _sir,_ you are my commanding officer. It's just protocol." Truman was grinning, amused. "I was wondering if you had any orders for me."

"Uh…Not any that I can think of." Edward admitted, he wasn't too comfortable with the idea of ordering someone around at all.

"So I'm on my own, then?" Truman asked.

"Wait! Aren't you supposed to be protecting me?" Edward asked back, remembering that.

"Ah, then _those_ are my orders." Truman rolled his eyes. "You have a long ways to go before you'd be a decent officer."

Edward glared, slightly pouting.

"Now since you brought that subject up, we need to discuss your and Alphonse's security." Truman was deadly serious. "I think we should find Alphonse for his input."

"Can't you just tell me what to do?" Edward raised an eyebrow. "I mean, you're the more experienced one in this field, here."

"Sir, you're the person I take my orders from, I don't order you around." Truman was almost laughing. "I think some lessons in commanding are in order as well."

Edward snorted and rolled his eyes, walking towards the library. Truman shook his head and followed. It was not long before the two arrived in front of the large doors that led into the large room full of books. Respectfully, Edward turned the knob and opened the door. The room was immense, tall bookshelves lining the walls, almost overflowing with the amount of books inside. Truman let out a long whistle.

"This is my first time in the muggle library…." He remarked absently.

"Is it?" Edward looked smug.

"It smells of old dust." Truman rolled his eyes. "Not terribly impressive."

"Hey!" Edward growled, he was fond of this library.

"Quiet, please!" A nearby librarian hissed. Both men looked sheepish, remembering their place in the library.

"There you are!" Fuery whispered loudly, signaling the other two to come over. When Edward and Truman arrived Fuery saluted them, following protocol. Edward, to his credit, remembered to salute back _and_ say 'at ease'.

"We need to talk about security." Truman announced, sitting down.

"Yes, we do." Fuery rubbed his temples. "We really do."

**-Present, unknown-**

There was a man walking down the dark, shadier streets of town. The streets where vermin are often seen scurrying away from the sound of footsteps, where the gutters are the trash cans and whores are seen at every corner looking for patronage. Seeing the man in this part of town was not uncommon, and he looked like he fit right in. He wore a pair of tight, black leather pants, an even tighter black tank top, and a black leather vest, with white feathers peeking out of collar. His over-greased black hair was slicked up so that it stood on end. (1) And to top off the look he wore a pair of thin wire-framed sunglasses and bore a red tattoo on his right hand.

This was a pretty unique tattoo; it had a serpent devouring its own tail coiled around a star, with a pair of wings on the top.

"The Ouroboros." A voice from the shadow the man had just walked by commented lightly. The man stopped and looked at the shadowy figure, slightly perplexed.

"What's it to ya?" He hissed, showing off almost sharp, fanglike teeth.

"Fangs too?" The bodiless voice chuckled. "You are certainly remarkable!"

"Look, I've got other shit to do, so if you're done wasting my time-" The man never got to finish. A long, wand-like piece of wood shot out from the shadow, pointed at the man.

"Oppungo!" The voice cried.

There was a moment of halted action, tension charging the air.

Then all the vermin, whores, crows, and those nasty, creepy durggie/drug dealer types that only lurked in this sort of alleys came rushing over, attacking the man.

He was perhaps a bit fazed, but not daunted. Quickly he lashed out with kicks and punches, using his inhuman strength to keep the offenders at bay. One of the creepy men had a knife and used it to cut off the man's hand- which, disturbingly enough, just grew right on back.

"Not human then, are we?" The voice chuckled. "Well, I've been wanting to meet someone like you for some time…."

The man said nothing, and instead threw one of the people at the source of the voice. The body hit another person, there was a groan followed by the pleasant sound of some small-time villain eating pavement (or as one might know it better, falling on his ass).

"Dammit!" The man hissed. The people who had been attacking him moments before were now blinking in confusion. He just shoved them aside and ran, knowing that sticking around was not in his best interests at the moment.

**-Present, Central Headquarters, State Alchemist's "Muggle" Library-**

"We still need to be able to move around and continue our research." Edward explained to Truman.

"You keep on going on and on about your research, why is that so important?" Truman sounded frustrated and exasperated. "Is it as important as your life?"

"My life is not worth living if I can't research this!" Edward snapped, slamming his hands on the table as he leapt to his feet in anger.

"Brother!" Alphonse protested while reaching, ready to grab Edward and restrain him at a moment's notice.

"Truman," Fuery began, "I think a better question to ask them is about their story." Truman paused, remembering what Mustang had mentioned about the Elrics' past.

"Then tell me." Truman said, the words almost a order. Edward took a deep breath and sat back down. Over the last few weeks he had gotten to know Truman pretty well, but Edward still didn't fully trust the man. Still, the logical part of Edward reminded him of his responsibility for Truman's life and of the fact that Truman already knew part of the story. In the end reason won, making Edward take a deep breath in preparation for the flood of emotions that were about to come.

"We're orphans," Edward began, "that bastard abandoned us when I was three."

"Bastard?" Truman looked confused.

"Our father." Alphonse supplied quickly. "We grew up in a small town out East, nothing big ever happened there."

"When we were little we read the alchemy books the bastard left behind, that's how we learned alchemy." Edward went on. "We preformed our first transmutation when I was six."(2)

"Is that young?" Truman asked.

"Very." Fuery answered him quickly. "Most people don't pick up alchemy at all until they are around nineteen or so."

"Oh." Truman looked at the two in silent awe.

"We studied alchemy really hard because it made Mom happy." Edward explained with a sad smile. "We found out later that it was because it reminded her of Dad."

"During Ishbal, our good friend Winry lost her parents. They were surgeons, got killed in a raid." Alphonse added, sounding mournful.

"So Winry went on with her Grandmother and learned the automail trade." Edward pulled off the glove on his right hand and showed it to Truman. "She's my mechanic now, made this arm and leg for me." Edward tapped his automail leg to demonstrate his point.

"I see." Truman nodded. "But how were you orphaned?"

"Our mother got sick, really sick." Alphonse would have been crying by now if he could. "She didn't make it."

"The doctor said she'd been hiding it for years." Edward shut his eyes, trying to fight back the painful memories. "To us it was sudden. We had just come home and there she was… on the floor, passed out sweating with a fever."

"She died a few days later." Alphonse bowed his head in sorrow.

"We decided we were going to bring her back using alchemy. Make a homunculus." Edward went on. "About a year later we did it. And we paid for it."

"I lost my body, and Ed…." Alphonse gestured to himself.

"Lost my arm and leg." Edward finished. "I used my arm as a sacrifice, to bind Al's soul in that suit of armor."

"You sacrificed your own arm?" Truman's eyes went wide. Edward nodded. "And your research?"

"Is to find a way to restore ourselves." Edward answered.

"Nothing to lose and everything to gain…." Truman muttered. "I get it now."

"Did the Colonel tell you the official story?" Fuery asked. Truman nodded.

"You aren't allowed to talk about it with anyone unless me or Al tells you that you can." Edward ordered. Truman nodded, after all this wasn't Truman's secret, it was theirs.

"Are you planning to do something about the homunculus you created?" Truman asked them, making both Elrics pause, stunned. "You mentioned that you had encountered a homunculus that can shape-shift, so wouldn't the one you made still be around?"

Edward fell into his chair, looking a bit mortified. Alphonse wasn't much better.

"Or it appears as through that thought has yet to cross your mind." Truman observed, feeling a little guilty.

"Fuck." Edward muttered after a while. "We'll have to destroy it."

"How do you destroy a homunculus?" Truman inquired.

"That, I'm not too sure myself…." Edward admitted. "You can cut their heads off and they just grow them back."

"That's a muggle approach!" Truman half scoffed, half laughed. "I could easily just transfigure one into stone, I'm sure that'd stop it."

"Transfigure?" Edward gave Truman a flat look.

"It's the fancy term for transforming things. As close to transmutation as magic gets." Fuery explained. He then pulled out his wand, which was made out of what appeared to be black marble. (3) Fuery grinned, swished it a few times, and then tapped it once on a pen. The pen wiggled, shifted and turned into a pencil.

"That's physically impossible…." Edward muttered, freaking out slightly.

"Magic does have a nasty habit of defying physical laws." Fuery remarked casually. "If it makes you feel any better Breda still can't look at his pencil case straight."

"What did you turn his pencil case into?" Truman inquired, amused. Fuery's eyes were glimmering with amusement.

"A puppy."

"That was mean." Alphonse glared at Fuery.

"You mean you can turn inanimate objects into living things?" Edward looked serious and calculating.

"Not a human if that's what you mean." Fuery answered. "Unlike alchemy, the taboos of magic aren't just no-nos, they are just impossible."

"Ah, I see." Edward nodded.

"I think it might be possible to transfigure a Philosopher's Stone…." Fuery remarked after a while.

"What!?" Both Elrics jumped to their feet.

"And that would also solve the problem of you two journeying for the time being!" Truman announced, smiling.

"Eh?" Fuery looked confused.

"You boys will be wanting to read up on the Sorcerer's Stone, that's what us Mages call it." (4) Truman found himself quickly continuing on with the pressing looks the boys were giving him. "Using the Stone you can refine the Elixir of Life, which when drunk will grant the drinker immortality. You can also use it to conjure gold. If the book I read was anything to go on…."

"Book!?" Edward's eyes lit up. "There's a book!?"

"Yup, I'm pretty sure I know where a copy is too." Truman smiled. "It's in this building."

"In… here?" Alphonse gasped.

"We Mages have our own library." Fuery confessed. "It'll be some work getting you two in though…."

"Work?" Edward frowned.

"Yes, there is a lot of paperwork and processing that allows a muggle access to the Headquarters within Headquarters." Fuery explained. "I'll start the filing process for you and Alphonse today, but I'm warning you, there's a good chance Major Elric wouldn't get clearance, let alone Alphonse."

"Why is that?" Edward asked.

"Mages and alchemists usually don't get along, it's an unwritten rule." Fuery sighed. "The Colonel tried to get clearance after he joined and they granted him access for a while..."

"Mustang was able to get in?" Edward gave Fuery a flat look. "Well, if he can, I can."

"It's not that simple Edward, most people let him in because he already knows about magic, the moment they found out he was researching and studying it, he was kicked out and lost all of his privileges." Fuery sighed. "The other reason was that the board that approves it was hoping to get some political advantage through the Colonel."

"Political advantage?" Alphonse asked.

"The Mustangs are- among the world of Mages- probably the single most influential family. One could argue that they have more power and respect than the Lieutenant Fuhrer." Truman nodded.

"So do they have more influence than the Armstrongs?" Edward asked Fuery.

"Comparing the two is like comparing a two year old's ability to persuade the mother to buy them sweets, and an excellent politician convincing someone on the street that they know what they are talking about." Fuery shook his head. "The Mustangs are in a different league altogether."

-----------

Well I brought you a long update, again, sorry for the delay.

1- His hair is probably greased with something organic; bacon fat was not too uncommon. Or he could just have freakishly impossible anime hair. Or he could just not be human and therefore have a right to have hair that defies the laws of physics. Or he could have enchanted magical hair. You decide.

2- Me and my Beta had a slight argument over this factoid. According to _The Perfect Guide 2_, Edward was five when he preformed his first transmutation and Alphonse was three. From what I remember from the anime there was a little notice that said 'Older Brother: 6 Younger Brother: 4'. If I am remembering wrong, sorry. Because this story is officially AU, I'm going to keep Edward's first transmutation at the age of six. This isn't really that important, I doubt it will affect anything later on.

3- In Amestris they use, in addition to wood, metals and other materials for their wands. Not only do their wand cores differ, but the very material a wand is made out of does as well. Some cores do not mix with certain materials. In about 50 years all the wizarding nations of the world are going to switch to wooden wands because they are lighter, and generally less destructive when used by a foreign user. For example, Haukro's wand is metal, it melts when held be a stranger. Fuery's wand _is_ made out of black marble and is extremely heavy.

4- I am aware that the title of the first Harry Potter book everywhere _except_ America (which is where I am from) was called 'Philosopher's Stone', in America it was released at the 'Sorcerer's Stone'. In this story the two objects are different and need a distinction to prevent confusion (as I learned with the two characters both named 'Hohenheim' in my last fic).

Was the action enjoyable? Will Edward get clearance to read in the magical library? What the heck is with Mustang and the rest of his family? And who the hell was that dude in the shadows!? Drop a review and the answers will come sooner!


	11. Whispers in the Hall

**Whispers Behind Backs**

**Author: Bar-Ohki Beta: ehxhfdl14**

Disclaimer: If you sue me I'll send _Them_ out for you!

Other Stuff: Between school, social life, and preparation for Sakura Con 08, I have had little time to work on this.

Beta's Stuff: Either my laptop or the Internet ate the mail…I'm so sorry! ㅠ-ㅠ

Chapter 10: Whispers of the Hall

**-Earlier, around noon, Central Headquarters, Magic-Muggle Affairs Committee's Chamber-**

"The Fullmetal Alchemist has requested permission to use _our_ library." One of the men there scoffed.

"He's under the _squib's_ command." Another person spat.

"Should we allow him?" A third voice asked.

There was much muttering to be heard.

"I say yes." A woman stood up. She had short orange hair and green eyes. Her gaze was intense.

"Why do you say that Captain Vanguard?"(1) Some asked.

_"They_ have been kidnapping more and more alchemists over the years. There must be a reason behind this!" Vanguard argued. "If we continue to shut out the alchemists, we won't ever be able to figure out what _They_ might want them for. Alchemists are scientists, men of understanding. There are things they can see that we cannot, there are things they can hear that we cannot. These people can help us understand ourselves!"

"…Vanguard, do you think that all will be better if we let an alchemist in?" The first man asked her.

"Not right away, no. But I do believe this to be a step in the right direction." Vanguard held her ground. "Is there a reason to keep them out?"

"They are muggles, Vanguard, and ultimately, muggles will never understand Mages."

**-Present, Central Headquarters, Thestral Stables (2)-**

Edward was laying on his back staring at the wood ceiling. He hadn't been able to sleep and found himself wandering out into the Thestral Stables. Beside him lay Trisha, his Thestral, named after his kind mother. Trisha, the Thestral, had seemed to care very deeply about the boys and acted almost _motherly._ Right now her presence was soothing Edward's worried mind.

"Say Tri? What's going to happen?" Edward asked, unsure himself. Truman had submitted the paperwork to get Edward access into the library. It would be another two more days before they got a response. A response, Edward hoped, that wasn't going to be marked 'Denied'. Edward's newfound uncertainly came not from reality, but rather his subconscious.

His dreams were haunted.

Alphonse was lucky. He couldn't dream, so instead he got to fret over his brother. Meanwhile Edward shut his eyes and rolled onto his side, trying to will sleep back. Feeling Trisha nuzzle the small of his back helped the tension inside him dissipate. Quickly his conscious mind shut down and his unconscious emerged again.

**-Dream sequence-**

Edward was in his home, the one he grew up in and ultimately burned down. Walking around in the house, Edward faintly realized that he was wearing his military uniform, but did not feel it was out of place. He began to wander around the house, finding everything as he had left it before he burned the house down. He entered this father's study to see Hohenheim lying on the floor, his glasses shattered.

Quickly Edward rushed to the man's side, checking for a pulse. There was none. His father was dead.

A sudden movement made Edward stand up and jerk into a defensive stance. The back door in his father's office was open. His mother had always forbid them from going inside the room, and even after her death the boys had avoided it. Edward walked forward, peering into the mysterious room. The room was black; the walls, the floor, the ceiling. Edward walked into it, his boots echoing off the walls. There seemed to be indefinite space in this room. It couldn't have been any bigger than a closet on the floor plan!

"…I want that squib dead…." Someone's voice whispered in the darkness, quietly enough Edward was able to vaguely register a sort of soft hiss. Edward spun around, trying to find a source of the noise, only to discover the door he'd walked away from was gone.

"…I didn't want this baby…." Another hiss, this one louder.

"I never asked to be born!" Edward recognized the sound to be Mustang's voice, but the words were still beyond him.

"Die." "Die." "Die." "Die." "Die." Each word was progressively louder, always coming from right behind him. Edward spun around until he heard a loud crack.

And when he turned to face that sound, he saw Mustang lying on the ground, naked. The little creature called Lan was standing beside the seemingly unconscious Mustang, looking disgusted.

"Hatred kills." She whispered; Edward could hear her words louder than the shrieks of "Die" he had been hearing before.

"It killed him, it is killing me, it will kill you." Lan told him, her eyes looking through him.

"Mustang's dead?" Edward gasped.

"My Master is dead." Lan confirmed.

"…He deserves any misfortune that befalls him…" Another whisper from the behind. Edward jerked around then, turned around to see that Lan had left and Mustang's body had rotted. It was standing up looking at him with eaten out eyes.

"…Be safe…." The rotting corpse wished him, and then the cadaver fell down, decomposing visibly.

"Wait!" Edward cried, running towards Mustang's corpse. He found himself falling through the floor.

**-End dream sequence-**

Edward jerked up, sweating, screaming _"Wait"_. Standing above him was a cloaked figure, whose only visible feature was a grin.

-----------

Behold the power of cliffhangers!

1- Vanguard, like the other last names of Fullmetal Alchemist military personnel, is a WWII airplane.

2- Built exactly four months after the official completion of Central Headquarters. It was the first addition to the base and reminded everyone that not all plans can account for all the needs. The Stables can house up to 400 Thestrals. It has yet to be filled.

Review if you want an update soon!


	12. Dealings in Darkness

**Whispers Behind Backs**

**Author: Bar-Ohki Beta: ehxhfdl14**

Disclaimer: If you sue me I'll send _Them_ out for you!

Other Stuff: Between school, social life, and preparation for Sakura Con 08, I have had little time to work on this.

Beta's Stuff: Life seems to be getting busier and busier, especially with a new tablet added to the mix.

Previously:

_Edward jerked up, sweating, screaming. Standing above him was a cloaked figure whose only visible feature was a grin._

Chapter 11: Dealings in Darkness

**-Present, Central Headquarters, Thestral Stables-**

"So we meet." The figure remarked casually, its voice genderless. Edward said nothing, moving his body into a defensive position. He was ready for a fight.

"I'm not here for you tonight." The figure answered. "I'm just here to talk."

"What do you want?" Edward hissed.

"Straight to the point, just like your mother." The figure laughed slightly.

"You knew my mother?" Edward was caught off guard.

"Yes, I know your father too. As a matter a fact, I know where he is." The figure told him.

"Who cares about that bastard!?" Edward growled, his long-time grudge with his father showing in a flash of anger.

"I see." The shadowed form frowned. "I'll take my leave of you now, boy." The figure stood up. "But you will be mine eventually." The cloaked body vanished.

Edward blinked. Had it all been a dream, a figment of his imagination?

Trisha stood up and butted Edward's head, cawing in concern.

"It's okay." Edward rubbed the top of her head. "It's okay."

"This most certainly is not okay!" An angry screech rose over the nearby wall. Stomping footsteps shadowed the voice. Both Edward and Trisha crouched down, silent and waiting.

"He's not someone that can just be removed quietly; he's got too much power and support." Another voice, this time male and deeper, countered the first one, heavier footfalls coming with it.

"What do you mean he's got power!? You said he'd gain none in the first place!" The first voice was also male and filled with rage.

"I can't change the hearts of hundreds of thousands of muggles! They turned him into their hero on their own!" The second man sounded cornered.

"I told you that I wanted him dead!" The first voice was even angrier by this point. "His very existence is too much of a burden, get rid of _**it!"**_

"…I'll see what I can do." The second voice was meek and submissive. "His reputation will need tarnishing, do you have anything I can use as blackmail?"

"No, unfortunately he was a perfect, 'angelic' child while in our care." The first man spat out the word "angelic" as if it was the filthiest word ever contrived. "He was in that Ishballan conflict, surely he did something unseemly during that time."

"Not that the military has a record of." The second man sighed. "I already looked. The closest you can get is dating a fellow man and officer. But there was a lot of that during the war, he'd just look normal as anyone if you did point it out."

"Dammit, did he ever disobey orders? Has he gotten some woman pregnant with all that sleeping around he's done? Anything?" The first man was getting desperate.

"Apparently he doesn't actually sleep with any of them, he's just rumored to. Saves him the trouble of disease and babies while giving you the lion's share of the shit." The second one paused, as if a thought just struck him.

"What is it?" The first man asked.

"What if we got him to knock up that subordinate of his? There'd be some talking." The second man was grinning, Edward could hear it.

"I'll get you a love potion if you can get me some of his hair." The first man assured the second.

"I think that's possible, I know someone in laundry." The second man sounded content. "I'll have it done as soon as I can."

"Good." The first man began to walk away.

"Finally! Finally I can get rid of that ass!" The second man cheered.

At this time Edward stood up and had a good look at the man. He was middle-aged, with graying blond hair and a overall chubby appearance. He was military, a Sergeant if the insignias on his uniform meant anything.

"That damn Mustang is going down!" The man went on gleefully. Edward's eyes narrowed.

"You are under arrest." Edward told the man gruffly, trying to sound as authoritative and in charge as possible. Currently Edward was thanking his luck to have actually worn his uniform out on his way to the stables.

"What!?" The man whipped around to reveal yellow eyes. Edward bore his own golden eyes into the man's.

"You are under arrest for conspiring against a fellow officer," Edward pulled his watch up and held it up before the man. "under the Fuhrer's authority."

"State alchemist, huh?" The man was amused; he pulled a ceramic wand out of his sleeve. "Let's see how you deal with a little-" Suddenly a large streak of white-hot flames appeared before the man. The fire roared once, and then disappeared.

"You, dear Sergeant, are indeed under arrest." A woman told the man. He paled considerably. Edward shifted his gaze to catch a glance at the woman. She wasn't tall, nor was she short. She had short, curly red hair and blue eyes. She was military as well, a Captain, one rank below Edward. In her hand was a long, glass wand with what appeared to be sliver hairs inside it.

"Vanguard!" The man gasped.

**-A short while later, Central Headquarters, the office of Captain Vanguard-**

The first thing Edward noticed about Vanguard's office was how large it was. The room couldn't have been any bigger than ten cubic feet in size if the walls were anything to judge by, but the actual room they were in appeared to have ceilings at least fifty feet high. There were file cabinets all along the walls with little green winged creatures buzzing around everywhere, busily filing. There was a large window in the room which was currently letting in a lot of moonlight.

"You have pixies." The man commented, amazed.

"Yeah, Eastern Amestrian Pixes." Vanguard commented offhandedly.

"You've actually tamed them!?" The man gasped.

"I'm a bit of a changeling."(1) Vanguard chuckled. "Now what the hell is this dope being accused of?"

"I overheard him conspiring again Colonel Roy Mustang, the Flame Alchemist." Edward answered quickly. "With another person, I don't know who or where they went."

"Again?" Vanguard looked exasperated and annoyed at the man. "You should really stay out of that family squabble."

"But he offered-" The man protested.

"It doesn't matter what he offered, you're going to jail for the rest of your life." Vanguard rolled her eyes.

"I didn't do anything! How can one _kid's_ testimony mean anything!?" The man protested.

"I didn't say you were going to jail for that." Vanguard was quick to correct herself. "You pointed your wand a State Alchemist, that's treason and you know it."

"But-!" The man protested.

"I, Captain Vanguard of the State of Amestris, hereby sentence this man to life in jail for treasonous acts against the Fullmetal Alchemist." Vanguard held her glass wand up in the air, swinging it down in a sharp motion, a final motion. The man yelped and with a popping noise, was gone.

"Wow." Edward muttered in amazement.

"I can't actually throw that man in jail for conspiring again Colonel Mustang, it'd get us both in significantly more trouble than it's worth." Vanguard sighed. "I swear his family is full of walking contradictions."

"Why do you say that?" Edward asked.

"The other man you heard was probably Gerodi Mustang, the Colonel's father." Vanguard sighed. "He wants his son dead, but at the same time he's going to have anyone thrown in jail who attempts to conspire against his son or accuse others of doing just that."

"What the _hell_?" Edward muttered.

"That isn't the first time I've thought that." Vanguard cracked a smile. "The committee is currently looking over your application."

"They are?" Edward's face lit up.

"Grim is all I have to say about how it's going." Vanguard watched Edward droop, his entire being filled with lost chance momentarily. "Has it occurred to you that Truman can check out books for you to read?"

"He can?" Edward blinked.

"Well, some of them. It'll be something to start with." Vanguard nodded, to herself more than anyone else. "But be careful Edward, being on the front of the tide of change means you'll be the first one to run into something unpleasant."

"Eh?" Edward was confused.

"You'll understand someday, now off to bed with you." Vanguard's wand flicked again a few times and Edward was suddenly in his dorm room.

"What the hell?" He muttered to himself.

"Brother?" Alphonse asked.

"It's nothing Al, nothing at all…." Edward didn't sound sure.

**-Present, the house of Roy Mustang-**

Roy was lying on his bed, staring up at the cream colored ceiling of his room. He was remembering times when he was loved and respected. The good days of his early childhood. The precious days that fell apart the moment he performed that transmutation before his parents and turned the water in the cup into ice. The days before his life was destroyed.

"Master. You shouldn't think about something that is gone, it is not healthy." Lan reminded him.

"Sometimes I wish I could go back and change it." Roy sighed.

"Don't we all?" Lan asked him, her ears perking.

"I suppose we all do, in some way or another." Roy smiled. "I just don't want those boys to wind up like me."

"I doubt there is anyone that can be like you, Roy." Lan laughed.

"You're right Lan." Roy laughed with her.

----------

Yet another piece of a very, very large puzzle.

1- Changelings, a creature from Irish myth, are children of the fairies that were exchanged with human babies to live amongst humans. Vanguard is implying she is not all human and is in fact related to some kind of magical creature.

What do you think of Roy's dad?


	13. Bits and Pieces

**Whispers Behind Backs**

**Author: Bar-Ohki Beta: ehxhfdl14**

Disclaimer: I don't think I would be writing 'fan fiction' if I owned FMA; I'd be writing original fiction.

Other Stuff: Now I know why they call it 'dead week', if you aren't dead you sure as hell feel like it!

Beta's Stuff: I'm just waiting for spring break…so I can do more work. Kind of defeats the purpose of a "break", doesn't it?

Chapter 12: Bits and Pieces

**-Six years ago, unknown-**

"Guess what I just got?" A tall, brown haired man with green eyes sang childishly as he pranced around the room. The room was barren, with only a small grate in the corner and a pile of hay in the other. The room was light green painted poorly over hard, cold concrete. The source of light was a tiny slit in the ceiling that cast harsh bright light into the room. On the pile of hay lay a gaunt, sickly man. He had dark circles beneath his golden eyes and several premature wrinkles on his face, showing that his life had been difficult. His normally golden hair had dulled and darkened to a hideous shade of greenish brown with only a hint of blond hair. He was clad in two stained rags that had been crudely sewn together, not even resembling real clothing. With a long, shuddering breath, the man on the ground turned his head to look at the dancing man. The gaze was a haunted, tired one, a gaze that would reach out and burn itself permanently into the memory and soul of the receiver.

"_Food._" The man on the floor managed in a raspy, pained voice.

"No." The dancing man shook his head. "No, it's not food, Elric."

"Water?" The man called Elric asked.

"Nope! It's a letter from your son!" The dancing man had stopped dancing and, with a flourish, he pulled a letter from his purple robes.

"Son?" Elric asked.

" 'Dear Mister Caith Loosh,' Oh, its addressed to me, how quaint." Loosh babbled as he read the letter out loud. "I am writing you because my mother is really sick. You were a corespondant'- aww how cute, the boy can't spell - 'of our father. If you know where he is, could you send him home? Sincerealy, Edward Elric Alphonse Elric'."

"Trisha!?" Elric attempted to sit up, but he was far too weak, within moments he collapsed.

"You know what this means right, Elric?" Loosh smirked. "It means that she's finally lost the resolve to fight my spell. It means, my friend, that she is dying."

"Bastard…!" Elric hissed.

"It'll be a pity, a young single mother leaving two young, sensitive children behind." Loosh laughed. "Yes, two talented children full of potential just waiting to be sculpted. It's the best news I've had in years!"

"I won't let you!" Elric managed to get himself up onto his hands and knees, his eyes burning with determination. Loosh sighed and pulled out a ceramic wand. With a complete, dark seriousness, Loosh pointed it at Elric.

"Oh but you will Elric, in fact," Loosh leaned in close, "you'll help."

**-Present, Central Headquarters, just outside Truman's dormitory room-**

Vanguard had decided it would be best if she walked Edward down to the dorms in person. Edward wondered if she had a bone to pick with someone, because she looked like she was about to commit murder. That _someone_, Edward realized, was Truman. Vanguard stood before the door of his room, her expression all but burning a hole in the door. Vanguard looked older, not looking like the young jumping woman of thirty-something, but rather a wise woman in her late fifties.

**"Setty! If you don't open up this door I'm going to blow it **_**and**_** the building up!"** Vanguard bellowed sounding very manly and angry. There was a small click and the door crept open. A timid eye looked through the crack and blinked twice. Then the door came fully open.

"Ba-" Truman began.

"Don't you start on that." Vanguard hissed in warning. "Do tell me why you left this boy unattended."

"I thought he was sleeping?" Truman rubbed his eye sleepily. "I sure was."

"You-" Vanguard turned her angry gaze on Edward, "-do make sure to keep your whereabouts known to those who are looking out for you!"

"Yessir!" Edward snapped his heels and saluted.

"Now Setty," Vanguard glared at the man, "you will do a better job."

"Captain, why do you care?" Truman asked her, weary.

"Because, Setty, he's the first bit of real hope I've had in years." Vanguard answered. "Along with good news, you would do well to take better care." She spun on her heel and walked away.

"What's with her?" Edward asked, totally confused by the Captain's behavior.

"She's the only person that's escaped _Their_ experiments. She has aging issues because of it and mood swings too boot." Truman sighed.

"Aging issues?" Edward wondered.

"Her actual age is fifty-eight, but her body doesn't always appear that way." Truman frowned. "She normally stays looking about thirty-two but sometimes she'll either return to her actual age or get even older."

"Why would you do that to someone?" Edward asked.

"What if you sought eternal youth?" Truman asked back. "And say, where were you?"

"I was in Trisha's stall, thinking." Edward answered.

"Alphonse gave me reason to believe the name Trisha holds a lot of significance to the two of you, care to share?" Truman leaned against the doorframe, looking expectant.

"Trisha was our mother's name." Edward answered.

"Ah." Truman rubbed the back of his head. "Well. Let's get some sleep then!"

"Sure." Edward rolled his eyes with a chuckle and walked back to his dorm room.

**-Present, Central Headquarters, Fuhrer's Office-**

Fuhrer Bradley was sitting in a chair, looking thoughtful. His secretary walked over, her heels clicking on the floor. She had long chestnut hair and green eyes.

"Penny for your thoughts?" She asked him.

"I'm just wondering how mad Master will be with us for not telling her about Mages…." The Fuhrer had a wry smile.

"Very much I bet." The secretary laughed. "Someone has been telling me that giving Master a magically-wrought stone is a bad idea."

"And this someone is?" The Fuhrer raised an eyebrow.

"I don't know," the secretary responded, "she's been louder lately."

"Really?"

"Loud enough I'm starting to make sense of her whispers." The secretary looked wistful. "Something big is about to happen, I know that much."

"Yes, something big is happening." The Fuhrer nodded in agreement.

**-Present, unknown-**

"Well kiddies," Loosh begin as he knelt down beside a cage, "are you ready to see your Daddy?"

--------------

Some cryptic pieces of the past, and the introduction of someone who's obviously bad news. What do you think?


	14. A Little Research

Whispers Behind Backs

**Whispers Behind Backs**

**Author: Bar-Ohki Beta: ehxhfdl14**

Disclaimer: I own Setia, Vanguard, Roy's family, and stuff like that…. Everything else belongs to someone else who is certainly not me as I am not getting paid to do this.

Other Stuff: I feel terrible for not updating this. First there was dead week during which everything was due. Then finals week followed and the studying kicked my ass. Then that Friday I had my wisdom teeth removed which resulted in me being loopy. And that Tuesday I left town and didn't get home until late Sunday. I was at Sakura Con this last weekend and had a blast. A new term has started and stuff is a bit chaotic, but what else is new? I've made this chapter extra long as compensation.

Beta's Stuff: I partially broke my laptop casing, which resulted in me working with the desktop instead…

Chapter 13: A Little Research 

**-Present, Central Library; Magic Branch-**

Truman sighed as he stepped into the doors of the enormous room that was the Magic Branch of the Central Military Library. The State Alchemists used the State Branch, or the "muggle library" as Mages called it. It appeared as if it was a normal library on the surface, if you could ignore the fact that most of the selves were over 20 meters high (about 60 feet) and that several books had chains on them. And if you ignored the fact some of the shelves appeared to not exist, but held books nonetheless. One also had to ignore the petite man with wicked, long, pointy ears and a permanent scowl on his face as well. He had beady black eyes and a large set of white canines poking out from his upper lip. The little man's long fingers were currently running gently over an ancient, large tome. Truman walked up to the man and coughed politely.

"Can I help you, sir?" The man inquired in a high, shrill voice that held a strained politeness.

"Er, yes, two things." Truman held up two fingers. "First off I am here to return the necklace my wife ordered back to its original owner- she is dead and it is no longer rightfully mine to keep."

"A human returning Goblin treasure?" The man, or rather Goblin as he just identified himself, raised a bushy eyebrow in skeptical surprise.

"Well yes, my wife enjoyed it greatly while she was alive. But it belongs to its maker, does it not?" Truman reached into his pocket and pulled out an abused black velvet box. "I have forgotten the maker's name, but I do recall him being here in the Central area…."

"Let me see it." The Goblin held out his long fingers. Truman placed the velvet box in the creature's hand with care. Warily the little Goblin opened up the case to reveal a necklace of the finest gold and craftsmanship. There was a single azure gem embedded in the bottom. It wasn't a particularly fancy necklace, but it was well made.

"This would be the work of Lancit." The Goblin nodded, shutting the box. He set it down, picked up a piece of parchment and grabbed a quill. After briefly dipping it in ink, he began to write using the quill. It was a quick note written with elegant handwriting. The note had directions to where "Lancit" lived. The Goblin nodded and handed it to Truman.

"Thank you so much." Truman was truly grateful, bowing deeply to show it.

"And your name is?" The Goblin inquired.

"Setia Truman, good sir." Truman answered, choosing to not site his rank as his uniform stated that very well.

"Your second request?" The Goblin asked again.

"Ah, yes, is there a book on basic Magical Theory I could check out?" Truman asked, remembering Edward's exact phrasing. The boy claimed he knew what he was asking for, Truman did not.

"Perhaps Truman would like a book on basic magic and fundamentals to go along with that?" The Goblin suggested. Truman gave him a small nod. "Please wait here; I will fetch them for you."

"I can get them myself! I mean, I wouldn't want to trouble you…." Truman offered.

"You are a kind man, Truman." The Goblin observed as he grabbed another parchment and wrote a few things down on them. "Don't summon them."

"I wouldn't dream of doing that." Truman assured the Goblin. "Thank you, I'll be seeing you in a bit." Truman walked away and began his search for the four books listed on the parchment. The Goblin smiled as Truman left.

"He understands us Goblins, that Truman. He's a good man." The Goblin nodded. Then a small popping noise shattered the momentary silence, and Lan appeared at the base of the large counter.

"Master Kidder?" Lan whispered cautiously. Quickly the Goblin, Kidder, scrambled forward and leaned over the edge of the counter to get a good look at Lan.

"What brings you here Lan?" He almost hissed, his voice full of caution. "If you get caught they'll have you killed!"

"My Master needs a copy of a Monster Book of Monsters." Lan explained, her eyes pleading.

"Is it desperate?" Kidder's eyes were wearily boring into the door, watching for a sign of movement.

"Very." Lan nodded. Kidder nodded, and then his librarian side slipped out.

"Does the Master Mustang know how to properly treat the said book?" Kidder inquired.

"Yes, Master knows to pet the spine and to feed it bits of dry fish every two weeks." Lan assured the Goblin.

"Very well then. You will be taking it to him, I presume?" Kidder asked, not appearing annoyed in the slightest.

Lan nodded gravely.

"Return here in two hours, I will have it ready." Kidder instructed her.

"Thank you kind Master Kidder." Lan disappeared, a popping noise accompanying her departure. Kidder walked away from the counter and picked up a telephone receiver that had no wire.

"Bruk, please retrieve a copy of the Monster Book of Monsters for Master Mustang." Kidder told the receiver. A small "yes sir" was chorused on the other end. Kidder hung up the phone and went back to his post, then waited. Bruk, another Goblin with a grayish complexion and a few tufts of dark brown hair on his head, came waddling over on his long-toed Goblin feet. He was carrying a large fur-covered tome that he was petting the spine of.

"One copy of a Monster Book of Monsters." Bruk announced, sounding almost happy. Carefully Kidder took the book from him, stroking it while he set it to the side.

"There is another nice man," Kidder informed his colleague and friend, "a Setia Truman."

"I'll keep an eye out for him." Bruk nodded. "Do you know how the Master is doing?"

"From what I hear he's still upsetting all the thieves. Not to mention 'sneaking' some books from this library." Kidder smiled pleasantly.

"Very good to hear." Bruk smiled his own toothy grin and dashed off.

Soon Kidder heard voices from the hall, one a man, one a woman, and one a teenaged male.

"-What do you mean I can't come down here without a chaperon?" A golden-eyed boy known as Major Elric demanded as he marched into the library with Captain Vanguard and Colonel Mustang. The moment the library doors had opened Edward's loud, booming voice fell to a loud whisper. Kidder raised an eyebrow at this but said nothing.

"Can I help you, sirs?" Kidder asked automatically. Afterwards he caught himself. "Colonel Mustang, you do not have permission to be in this room."

"He has mine for the moment." Vanguard grunted. Kidder seemed unimpressed. He turned and looked at Edward, his eyes scrutinizing the boy.

"Ah, yes, Master Kidder, this is Edward Elric- he's a subordinate of mine." Mustang quickly introduced his subordinate. "He's been granted temporary access to this fine library."

"Edward Elric, as in the Fullmetal Alchemist?" Kidder seemed surprised. Vanguard was surprised by the Goblin's reaction. Most Goblins would have not cared if a human was introduced to them.

"Yes, Master Kidder, sir." Edward gave a small bow and then pulled out his pocket watch to prove his claim.

"My boy, do you not know what you have done?" Kidder seemed appalled.

"Er- I've done a lot of things, I don't really keep track of all of them…." Edward admitted, rubbing the back of his head in slight embarrassment.

"You saved the Goblins of Xenotine!" Kidder was quick to explain. "The red poison was killing all of our people, but you purged it from the land! Neither Mage, nor Goblin was able to accomplish that."

Mustang noted that Vanguard's eyebrows shot up when she realized what sort of things Edward actually did when he went out on a field mission. It didn't surprise Mustang; Mages had little reason and even litter interest to know of an alchemist's actions.

"I did it because it was the right thing to do." Edward explained with a smile. "The Red Water was poisoning everything, so I stopped it. I'm glad to hear that your people are safe and well now."

"You are a gracious person, young Elric." Kidder nodded. "Why were you only granted a temporary pass?"

"The Council is unsure of what to do with him." Vanguard was quick to explain.

"May I see the papers?" Kidder asked Mustang, who quickly produced them. Kidder examined them then nodded.

"Master Kidder?" Edward asked. "Could you not start those up right away?"

"Why is that?" The Goblin asked.

"I asked Truman to come down here and check out a few things on my behalf." Edward admitted. "If that's not permitted, I'll just have it activated and look at the books here…." Kidder frowned, then after a short bit, nodded.

"I would like you to read for me the second paragraph on page 148 from this book." Kidder handed Edward a copy of the Monster Book of Monsters. Edward studied the book carefully before taking it from the Goblin's hands.

"Is that one alive?" Edward asked setting his flesh hand against it, feeling the fur and heat from the book.

"You noticed, excellent." Kidder nodded.

"Is there a particular way to treat it?" Edward began to stroke the book's spine, letting it fall open to page 148.

"Well my boy, you certainly have a good talent for books!" Kidder exclaimed as Edward pulled the book away from the Goblin and held it in his own arms while reading the contents.

"Edward grew up around some of the oldest and most fragile texts of the muggle realm." Mustang almost bragged on the behalf of the boy.

"Then young Elric is welcome to have Truman check out books on his behalf." Kidder nodded then set Edward's papers aside. "I will activate these when you tell me to."

"Wow!" Edward was reading a paragraph on Dementors. "I was really lucky…."

"Had an encounter with a Dementor?" Vanguard asked looking over Edward's shoulder to see what he was reading.

"Enough of one to last a lifetime." Edward assured her.

While the two were distracted by the book, Mustang pulled a small blue key out of his pocket and discreetly handed it to Kidder. Kidder took it and walked back to the large wall consisting of little mail boxes that lay behind the counter. Kidder selected a box, opened it using the blue key and pulled out a green sheet of parchment. He returned to the counter and wrote a few notes on the parchment. Afterwards he quickly slipped the parchment under a paper on the desk as to not look conspicuous. He tossed the blue key over the counter, having it land at Mustang's side with a soft pinging sound.

"It appears as though you have dropped something Master Mustang." Kidder announced as if this was news. Mustang reached down and picked up the key quickly, stuffing it back in his pocket.

"Thank you Master Kidder." Roy bowed.

"Well, that's all nice and dandy, now lets go eat some lunch." Vanguard began to push the other two out of the room, not liking the glares Kidder kept on giving her.

"But not before that book is returned." Kidder warned her, his voice icy. Edward broke free of Vanguard to gently place the book on the counter with a smile.

"Have a good day!" Edward called out to Kidder in a polite, soft library voice of his.

Once out into the hall Edward let out a sigh of relief.

"You did well." Roy complemented him. "First impressions with Goblins are the most important, they hold nasty grudges."

"How the hell does he not treat you like crap?" Vanguard glared at Mustang.

"I am nothing but nice and respectful in his or any other Goblin's presence." Mustang told her as if it was just that simple.

"Goblins are only nice to humans that do them favors!" Vanguard pointed an accusing finger at Mustang. "You did something to make him happy!"

"I am the leader of our best Magic Control Unit." Mustang was quick to remind her. "There are a lot of things I've done to benefit Goblin-kind."

"You're an asshole." Vanguard glared at him then began to stomp away. Mustang rolled his eyes.

"Well, you're the _aunt_ of an asshole." Mustang muttered quietly, enough that Edward couldn't overhear, after she was gone.

"I thought she liked you." Edward blinked.

"No, she doesn't. Well, not publicly at least." Mustang shook his head. "There aren't many Mages that like me."

"Why is that?" Edward asked.

"I… it doesn't matter." Mustang chose not to answer the question.

"I'm not going to take that as an answer, bastard!" Edward raised his fist up in anger and moved to punch Mustang. A long, white marble wand poking between Edward's eyes stopped the boy completely.

"As disgraceful as that pointless lump of flesh over there is, I assure you I was married when it was created among us." The steely voice of Gerodi Mustang informed Edward. Edward looked up at his superior's father, a bit taken aback at seeing the same face as commanding officer, except that the coloring was all wrong and this one bore a look of pure disgust. This man had curly brown hair and blue eyes along with a more tanned complexion. A few wrinkles and stress lines marked the aging process in this man. Today he wore bright green robes.

"I thought my stench was enough to keep you ten kilometers (about six miles) clear of Central City." Mustang didn't sound mocking and playful like he did when he taunted Edward; instead his voice carried a brutal, feral honesty that made Edward step back involuntarily. Mustang's very presence was oozing dark, pure hatred.

"A man must make sacrifices for his family." The elder Mustang informed his son in a patronizing manner. "Though it disturbs me more that you are walking these halls."

"Does it, now?" Mustang smirked with dark amusement, his eyes open in a savage sort of way making him look almost like a psychopath.

Edward felt the hair on the back of his neck stand on end. His gut clenched _hard,_ and his instincts told him to start running, that there was blood coming soon. Frantically he looked at the father and son, seeing nothing but a savage, inhuman hatred between them. Edward knew he had to do something before things got completely out of hand. So he took a deep breath and began to move forward to separate the two; this time a book beat him to the punch.

Both Mustangs took a startled step back when the large tome was inserted between them. Truman took another step and replaced the book with his physical body. Truman looked the elder Mustang straight in the eye.

"You realize attacking the Colonel is a one-way trip to the gallows?" Truman raised a weary eyebrow at the man. "Mages that attack State Alchemists are considered traitors."

"I am aware of the laws of this country." The elder Mustang glared at Truman. "If I were you I'd stay out of matters where you have no place."

"And if I were you I'd stay out of places where you do not belong." Truman advised the man. The elder Mustang turned his nose in the air with a harrumph and began to march away. Truman turned to face the Colonel to see the man in a livid state. His usually pale face was flushed purple with anger and he was clenching his fists so hard he would have broken the skin had he not been wearing gloves. Edward said nothing and rushed to his commander's side, setting a comforting hand on the man's elbow.

"I hate my father too." Edward said gently. Edward's hatred for his father wasn't quite as strong, deep, or vile as the mutual abhorrence between Roy and Gerodi Mustang; he and his father didn't meet frequently enough to nurture the hatred. Mustang gave Edward a small, weak smile, acknowledging the boy's attempt at being sympathetic.

"I know." Mustang nodded. He took a few breaths and composed himself. Though he was still far from calm, Mustang at least wasn't purple in the face anymore. "Let's go."

"Yeah." Edward nodded in agreement.

**-That evening, the house of Colonel Roy Mustang-**

"…I saw Father today." Mustang informed Lan as he took off his greatcoat and hung it up in his entryway.

"Your father?" Lan's eyebrows shot up in disbelief. "Are you sure?"

"He's the only person that acknowledges me as a 'pointless lump of flesh' without a gender." Mustang answered her. Afterwards he took a deep, shuddering breath and bit back his tears.

"Why was he here?" Lan asked quickly closing the distance between herself and Mustang, sensing his distress building.

"He wasn't clear." Mustang admitted after a while, his breath a little more even. With another breath, Mustang's control shattered, reducing him to a mess of hysterical sobs. "But- but he actually pointed a w-wand at Edward!"

"Shhh!" Lan reached over and held Mustang's head against her chest. With practiced ease, she rocked back and fourth, soothing the man. Mustang's body shook with tremors from the sobs.

"Why does he hate me!?" Mustang cried. "Why can't I ever appease him!?"

"Shhh…." Lan whispered in her master's ear. "It doesn't matter now, none of it matters."

Lan spent the rest of the night putting her master down for an uneasy sleep.

**-Present, Edward and Alphonse's dormitory room-**

"Okay Al, I have the reference books." Edward announced as he came into the room, setting the pile gently on the small table in the center of the room. Alphonse was sitting at the other side, surrounded by Mustang's notes on magic.

"…Something happened." Alphonse observed. Due to his lack of most senses, the remaining ones were extremely sharpened in the younger Elric, and so he often saw things in people others did not.

"…I guess." Edward sighed and sat down, rubbing his temples. For the first time in a long while Edward felt incurably tried.

"Do you want to talk about it?" Alphonse asked after a long pause.

"No." Edward's gaze was pointed out the window, but it was looking far beyond it. Looking right into the deep chasm of a wound that lay within the Mustang family.

"Elric, you need to clear your head." Truman reminded him. "No one is going to move forward by sitting on their ass."

Edward snorted. "Then what is it we do in cars?"

"What the heck is a car?"

--

Now we have seen firsthand the… _relationship_ between Roy and his father, Gerodi. Tell me what you think.


	15. An Oppertunity

**Whispers Behind Backs**

**Author: Bar-Ohki Beta: ehxhfdl14**

Disclaimer: The only thing I'm getting for doing this is your gratitude. Which I happen to enjoy a lot.

Other Stuff: New school term started, creating chaos in my life. Thankfully this is the last term then I get summer…. Where I will be taking more classes…. I suddenly feel doomed. I'll be aiming for once a week updates this term.

Beta's Stuff: I might need to increase my sleeping hours. Extremely bloodshot eyes can be quite frightening…

Chapter 14: An Opportunity

**-Present, Central Headquarters; Ed and Al's dormitory room-**

"…Magic is really complicated." Edward admitted after a long, long silence. He and Alphonse had spent the last few weeks looking at Mustang's research notes, trying to understand every aspect of them. They then spent the following weeks working with Mustang and Truman trying to expand the notes. Currently Edward was on the floor, half buried beneath notes and books.

"Yes, it is." Truman nodded from his seat on the bed, which was also covered with books.

"It still doesn't make much sense…." Alphonse remarked after a while. He was standing by the table as all the chairs were covered with paper and paper-related things.

Two short knocks, a click, and the door to the dormitory room opened to reveal Mustang wearing civilian clothes and toting a bag.

"Colonel!" Edward seemed slightly surprised.

"I found a lead." Mustang explained quietly.

"A lead!?" Edward and Alphonse exclaimed.

"An English wizard by the name of Nickolas Flamel is going to be in West City giving lectures next week." Mustang explained.

"Who's he?" Alphonse asked, not remembering all his wizarding facts. "And where _is_ England?"

"It's across the Great Ocean." Truman answered. "And Nickolas Flamel was the man that created the Sorcerer's Stone."

Edward and Alphonse gasped, stunned by the information.

"And he's going to be here?" Edward was wide-eyed.

"Not here, West City." Mustang was quick to correct him. "The Magical Capital."

"Oh." Edward stopped for a moment.

"There's a good chance _They_ will show up to cause trouble. So everyone's being sent out, yourself included." Mustang went on.

"They've never wanted Edward before…." Alphonse pointed out.

"Edward's never been officially aware of the magical world before either." Truman pointed out. "Will we be having some coordination drills before we leave?"

"…Now that I think about it, yes we will." Mustang mentally cursed himself for not considering that himself. "But the good news is that you will have several opportunities to talk to the man in private."

"Alright, when do we-?" Edward's question was cut off by a loud pop, with which Lan appeared.

"Mess!" she breathed, her eyes growing wide in horror. Mustang's eyes also got wide, but in panic.

"Lan-!" He reached out to stop her, missing by less than a centimeter. The house elf sped off into the room, her form but a blur. Books were alphabetized, restacked, and put into piles depending on which library they had to be returned to. The notes were also organized and put in stacks by subject. Somehow Edward found himself out of his pajamas and into a newly pressed uniform during Lan's mad cleaning episode. Truman found his hair washed.

Alphonse found his chest plate opened and Lan standing before it making a disapproving noise at him.

"A tattoo of blood, honestly what were you thinking boy?" Lan asked him and took a step forward to do something about it. She didn't take another step as there was a very real automail sword at her throat. Edward was glaring down at her.

"I don't mind if you pick up my room a little, but I do mind when you try to kill my brother." Edward informed her, his voice full of venom.

"Lan, that blood seal is the only thing holding Alphonse in this world, _please_ do not touch it." Mustang explained to her quickly.

"Oh! My apologies. Lan did not know, she should have asked." Lan stepped away from Edward's blade and bowed deeply.

"It's all right." Alphonse latched himself up. "Thank you for cleaning."

"…I just can't stand a dirty room, is all." Lan admitted after a while.

"Lan, would you go on ahead to home and start dinner?" Mustang asked her.

"…Yes." Lan nodded and disappeared with a pop.

"I'm sorry about that…." Mustang bowed. "Lan has a cleaning fetish."

"Is there a house elf that doesn't?" Truman asked.

"Do you really want me to answer that?" Mustang asked Truman back.

"On second thought, no." Truman realized his error before it got out hand. House elves were known to have some erratic issues; cleaning fetishes were only on the tip of the iceberg.

"Lan is a 'house elf'?" Edward asked, having come across them in several of the texts he'd been reading.

"Yes. She was originally a slave to the Mustang family." Mustang explained, his tone and posture made the Mustang family seem as though it was just a foreign third party. "I freed her just before we left, so now she's employed as my maid."

"Wait, so you mean that house elves are actually slaves?" Alphonse gasped in horror.

"For the most part yes. If you see them wearing actual clothes they are probably free though." Truman answered for Mustang.

"Don't house elves have magic?" Edward asked after a while.

"Yes." Mustang assured them. "Lan has an ability not unlike apparition, as well as some others."

"Apparition?" Edward had raised eyebrows.

"Instantaneously moving yourself to another place, usually much farther away from where you are." Mustang explained. He then checked his watch. "I've kept Lan waiting long enough, I'll be on my way now."

"Be careful." Truman wished him as he left.

"Wow brother, that was the first conversation you've had with him that's been civil!" Alphonse applauded his brother.

"That's because he didn't provoke me." Edward defended himself.

"He seems worried." Truman observed. "Not that I blame him."

"Truman?" Edward and Alphonse looked at their friend.

"I have a bad feeling about going out West…." Truman told them after a while. "And the last time I had a bad feeling like this my wife was murdered."

Edward opened his mouth to respond but the words never came. Then suddenly, a large beast with a wolf's body, large, green dragon wings, and a perfectly human head came flying in through the window, sending glass everywhere. The creature's head looked like an innocent girl, with brown hair and blue eyes. If her head had not been attached to the enormous chimera, Edward decided, she would have been cute.

"_**D**__a_**D**y!" The creature let out and inhuman moaning roar. Truman sat on the floor staring at it, petrified. "_**L**__e_**T**'_**s**_ _p_**L**a_**Y**_ _t_**A**g!!"

--

A chimera has appeared claiming that Truman is its father. Can we say cliffhanger?


	16. Some Truth About Truman

**Whispers Behind Backs**

**Author: Bar-Ohki Beta: ehxhfdl14**

Disclaimer: I am unemployed and penniless! How could I possibly own FMA?

Other Stuff: Time for the weekend update! I'll admit the lack of reviews was a little depressing, but I do appreciate the ones I did get.

Beta's Stuff: Too much work kills.

Chapter 15: Some Truth About Truman

**-Present, Central Headquarters; Ed and Al's dormitory room-**

"What- what are you!?" Truman cried in fear as he stared right into the visage of his daughter. It disturbed and shook him on too many levels to see the sort of beast she was now.

"_**P**__l_**a**y!" The beast demanded, throwing its paw at Truman's direction. Thankfully, due to the fact the dorm room had a low ceiling, the beast's paw fell short, smashing a large hole in the floor.

"Truman!" Edward yelled over the loud gnashing of the floor being deformed. Truman, like any other man of the military, rolled away from the beast and towards Edward. With some more crunching the beast began to pull its paw from the hole, making the rest of the floor creak loudly in protest.

"We've got to get out of here!" Alphonse exclaimed, and Edward agreed with a quick nod. It was fairly obvious that the military dorms were not designed to hold large chimeras. Though the small size of the room could be used to their advantage, the fact that important research documents and books were all underfoot was not. The fact that the building might cave from the stress, taking them and other innocent people inside it, was not appealing in the least.

Edward's mind spun quickly, thinking up new plans of action in the unexpected battle scenario.

"Truman, is there a spell that can be used to repair things?" Edward asked quickly.

"There is, but-" Truman didn't quite understand the purpose of the question.

"Good. Do something to keep the floor from collapsing." Edward ordered him. Truman blankly paused for a few moments, passively watching Edward clap his hands then push his hands against the floor. Electric blue arcs of alchemy flew about the room, wrapping the room with a surreal glow. The bits of wrecked floor shot to life, stretching out and then folding over on themselves. With a loud, sick crunch, the bits of floor impaled its tips into the leg of the beast.

This action caused it to contort in agony and forced it to let out an inhuman wail. Truman forgot how to breathe as he watched the face of his daughter contort in pain.

"What the hell… What the hell are you doing to her!?" Truman bellowed, thinking clouded by the sight. His wand was pointed at Edward, who immediately jumped to his feet with his hands in the air.

"Truman, she's not herself right now. I'm just making sure she doesn't hurt anyone." Edward explained to the man. "We need to keep her contained so that we can help her, just lower the wand-"

"Release her!" Truman demanded, anger and heartbreak evident.

"Fuck!" Mustang gasped when he came into view, just spotting the chimera. He had heard the noise and came rushing back to Edward's room to check on the boy's safety, only to find the source of the problem in the room only a small distance away. His black eyes were wide.

"Fullmetal. Report." Mustang exhaled, seeking explanation for the phenomenon.

"It's a chimera. Like- like Nina." Edward squeezed his eyes shut for a moment. "A lot like Nina."

"You've got to-" Mustang was cut off by the creature violently freeing its arm from the temporary bind Edward had put it in. Blood and muscle were torn free, mangled bits and ragged strips of flesh plunging to the floor. The damage done to the paw quite severe, white bone revealed amid raw tissue and pouring blood.

"_What have you done?_" Truman howled, judgment clouded and senses conflicted still. The chimera limped and started to restlessly move, making the floor creak unsteadily. As it aimlessly moved about, focused entirely on the pain, blood spurted out of the open wound on the leg and then proceeded to flow down the leg and onto the floor in large pools. The entire room reeked of a stench that was familiar and new, similar to blood but not quite; an underlying scent of ginger tainted the iron tang. The combination of the smell was starting to have a detrimental effect on the possessors of olfaction.

"Truman!" Alphonse cried, pulling the man's wand arm away from his brother. "Please, stop!"

"Knock him out, Alphonse! He can't handle this!" Mustang instructed the younger Elric. With a swift movement of his hand, Alphonse delivered a carefully aimed blow onto the base of Truman's neck, knocking him out.

"Any plans, Mustang?" Edward asked. Roy opened his mouth to answer when the floor shuddered, creaked loudly and finally, gave. The creature let out a surprised roar as it fell through the floor, smashing into the room below. Because of the amount of force the beast had when it smashed into the floor directly below, it went through and crashed right through the next one. Edward resided on the fourth floor of the dormitory; the beast didn't stop falling through floors until it hit the bottom with a loud, wet noise.

Mustang peered carefully over the edge of the enormous hole in the floor to see that the beast had been impaled on some sort of wooden board, not to mention the numerous other things such as bayonets sticking out of its hide at odd angles. And to top the effect, the beast's neck and spinal column was at an awkward and unnatural angle.

"It's quite dead, I'm sure." Mustang commented. Edward wearily walked over to the edge and saw for the cadaver for himself. The chimera was in fact lifeless.

"Dammit!" Edward hissed, upset.

"There was nothing you could have done, Fullmetal." Mustang assured the boy quickly. "There was nothing I could have done."

"Truman might have-" Edward protested.

"Truman was suffering from conflicted judgment, he was more likely to get himself killed." Mustang reminded Edward darkly. "I'm going to go contact investigations."

"How can you be so casual about this!?" Edward yelled at his commanding officer's back.

"I am a soldier. I can't afford to let my emotions get in the way of my job." Mustang pointed out. "You should remember that if you are wise, _Fullmetal_, you are just as much of a 'heartless' soldier I am."

"Damn it!" Edward cried again, upset and full of turmoil.

"Brother." Alphonse caught his attention. "…Lets go take Truman to the infirmary." Alphonse knew the only thing they could do now was move forward again; even if it was in a direction they did not want to go.

"Why the hell are we so powerless, Al?" Edward asked as he helped carry Truman out.

"Because we are human." Alphonse answered after some thought. "We'll always be simple, weak humans."

"_God dammit_." Edward swallowed the frustrated lump in his throat. "This sucks!"

"I know." Alphonse assured his brother. "I know."

**-Present, Central Headquarters; the "muggle" infirmary-**

Truman woke to find himself on a stiff bed. He was looking up a white ceiling and a white-clad woman who wore her lips in a thin line. After a few moments more examining her, Truman decided that she was a nurse.

"Are you all right?" The nurse inquired.

"My neck hurts a little." Truman was honest.

"Sorry about that." Alphonse apologized from Truman's left, making the man snap his head in the direction. Edward was sitting in a chair next to his brother, looking drained.

"What happened?" Truman asked, praying that the whole mess had been some bad dream.

"We knocked you out to keep you from doing something… illogical." Alphonse explained. "After you were out, the floor gave and the chimera fell through it."

"And the floor below that." Edward added, senseless laughter bubbling up his airway. "And the floor below _that."_

"In the end it-... she died." Alphonse finished.

"…She's _dead_?" Truman asked, his voice unsteady. "My baby girl is dead?"

"It wasn't your 'baby girl', Truman." Another voice explained. It belonged to a short, fat man with an ugly brown mustache and a balding head of greasy hair. He was wearing a lab coat and had a silver watch chain visibly hanging from his pocket.

"Why did it have her… why did it look like her?" Truman asked, his eyes pleading for an explanation, for his world to make sense again.

"Your daughter was killed to make that chimera." The man continued. "That thing did not carry the intelligence of your daughter, nor was it completely sane."

"…She asked me to _play_." Truman told the man. "She was in there!"

"Look, I know you're not an alchemist but-" Edward cut the man off.

"No, you look here, bud! I'm the Fullmetal Alchemist and I _do_ happen to know some things about chimera research. The girl's mind, body, and _soul_ were definitely parts of that chimera! She most certainly _was_ in there!" Edward snapped, irritated.

"Technically yes, that is true. But tell me, Fullmetal, is that what Truman wanted to hear?" The man asked, looking down on Edward. "People don't always need to hear the truth."

"That's a load of crap!" Edward protested.

"…So my daughter was locked up inside a monster to die?" Truman asked, stopping the argument.

"Not to die." Alphonse whispered, "But rather to coexist with the other being..."

"Why do people do such things?" Truman demanded. "How can anyone do such a cruel thing?"

"Not everyone has a standard of morals." The balding man answered. "Nor respect for the value of life. Humans are known to be some of the most disgusting creatures around."

"Who the hell are you, anyways?" Edward asked.

"Morty Zosia, the Knowing Alchemist." Zosia answered quickly. "I do a lot of identifying of alchemic process in cases like this."

"…I see." Edward glared at the man slightly.

"Your daughter was turned into a chimera by some unknown party, then sent after you to kill you." Zosia told Truman bluntly. "Is there anyone you know of that could have done such a thing?"

"I might. I would like to speak to Lieutenant Colonel Hughes about that directly." Truman told Zosia, his tone still sharp.

"…I will have him come here then." Zosia turned on his heel and left.

"Truman?" Edward asked, concerned.

_"They_ did it." Truman told the boys. _"They_ murdered my wife, kidnapped my children, then did this to destroy me at last!" The man was shaking in fury.

"Truman…." Alphonse set a hand on the man's shoulder, holding him steady.

"How did it happen?" Edward asked his voice low and quiet.

"…Because I'd been watching _Them_ and raiding _Their_ outposts, _They_ decided to strike back at me. My wife wasn't a witch, she didn't know what I did for the military. She and the kids were perfectly content with that; their daddy was a soldier that didn't like to talk about work.

"It was a spring day, a normal, spring day. Helen, my wife, was walking back home from some errands when _They_ attacked her. _They_ used the…the Killing Curse, it was quick and painless." Truman bowed his head. "They found her body with a note next to it, telling me to stay out of _Their_ business."

Edward swallowed hard and then beckoned Truman to continue.

"I came back from a mission about four days later, just in time for the funeral. At the time, it was the saddest day of my life. Because of the threat against me, I had a good friend of mine, Dougal Shyam. He was a Master Sergeant, like myself at the time. He was my partner and best friend, I trusted him with everything.

"…As it turned out, he was one of _Them_. Instead of protecting my children, he took them away. Now my daughter…." Truman bit his lip and shook, fighting back the tears.

"…There wouldn't have been a happy ending for her had she lived." Mustang consoled. He was standing distantly in the doorway. "She would have been taken to one of the Labs and experimented on until it killed her. Her death was an act of mercy."

"Mercy? Mercy?" Truman cried. "How would a mass murderer like you know anything about _mercy_!"

Mustang flinched.

"Stop it, both of you!" Edward snapped at both of them, silencing the room.

"You can't bring the dead back to life. Life only flows in one direction." Alphonse recited the words of his teacher. "There is nothing we can do now."

"…Nothing but to move forward." Edward added, nodding.

"To what?" Truman asked, lost.

"Your son is still alive as far as we can tell." Edward reminded him. "Don't abandon him."

Truman said nothing, remembering that Edward himself had been abandoned by his father. He nodded solemnly, wishing that he felt less dead inside.

--

In all honestly, this is one of the hardest chapters I have ever written. I also feel it is one of my best as well. Please tell me what you think.


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